


Roman Plays: Pokemon HeartGold Nuzlocke

by Kerriathechosen1



Series: Sanders Sides Nuzlockes [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempt at Humor, Character Death, Characters Playing Pokemon, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is a Good Friend, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I love Pokemon, Nuzlocke Challenge, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon, Pokemon Death, Pokemon HeartGold Version, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon Nuzlocke, Pokemon References, Sad Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Talking Pokemon, Why do I keep making Roman the protagonist when I struggle the most to write Roman, dark themes, should I put the Pokemon nicknames in the "characters" category?, starts out happy then gets progressively darker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26013808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerriathechosen1/pseuds/Kerriathechosen1
Summary: Roman and Remus decide to try the Pokemon Nuzlocke challenge individually. This is Roman's story.Nuzlocke rules:1. You have to catch the first Pokemon you see on every route and you can't catch anything else.2. You have to nickname every Pokemon you catch, so that you inevitably grow emotionally attached to them.3. If a Pokemon faints, it's dead. You have to release it, or store it in the PC in a special box to never be used again.Please read the notes, especially those pertaining to fanart! Hope to update on a weekly basis.
Series: Sanders Sides Nuzlockes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888126
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1.1 - New Bark Town

**Author's Note:**

> {Hello, everyone! As you may be able to guess by the fact that this is part of a new series, all of the sides are going to be doing Nuzlockes eventually! Roman and Remus will probably be the only ones done in 2020, but the others will be in development next year. I had a lot of fun playing through Pokemon HeartGold with a Roman-like mindset (I say that because I still struggle with writing him as a character), and I just *HAD* to turn it into a story as soon as possible.
> 
> The notes at the bottom of this chapter might be interesting to any of you who like to draw fanart, so please read through that as well. I know these notes are lengthy, but please take the time to read through them for me.
> 
> I will be using the notes at the bottom of each part or chapter to explain further what happened in the game, for those interested. Also, note that every Pokemon in this series IS going to be nicknamed. If they don't have a name at first, that just means it's going to be revealed later. That's mostly just for those who read chapter 1.1 and 1.2 in the next few days, because the starter's name is revealed at the end of chapter 1. The number of parts per chapter vary, as do the number of chapters per Arc, but there are 3 Arcs in all. The Arc names for this story will also be revealed at the end of the arc, because they may/may not contain spoilers.
> 
> Many beloved teammates will die. That is one spoiler I will not hesitate to share. This is a Nuzlocke, so you have to expect it's going to happen. For those of you who don't know what a Nuzlocke is, the summary and first part explain it, but if you're still confused, I can answer any questions you have. For Roman's Nuzlocke, there is no duplicate clause, which means that even if he caught the same Pokemon before, if it's the first on the route, he is locked from catching anything else on that route. I did not continue this trend for Remus's Nuzlocke (which will not be posted for another month or so probably, since I'm still only halfway through the gameplay).
> 
> Feel free to put predictions as to what may happen in the comments! I want to interact with all of you and know what you're thinking and who your favorites are. Obviously you won't have much to go off in this first chapter, but things will pick up, I promise.
> 
> I will be posting C1.1 and C1.2 today, and C1.3 will come out at the start of next week. That will give me some time to write some of chapters 2 and 3. I hope to speak with you in the comments!}

**_Arc 1_ **

**_Chapter 1.1_ **

**_Sitting down on the living room couch beside his demented twin, simultaneously playing different Pokemon games and conversing about the events, wasn’t something Roman would have even considered years ago, for fear that his twin would snap without warning and try to pull his insides to his outsides. But now that it was years later, and he actually understood his twin’s mindset (as much as one could) and the boundaries of his insanity (if one were to call it that, anyway -- Roman was starting to see that Remus was more sane than he’d once thought), such a domestic scene was not very off-putting to him, or to anyone else around him._ **

**_Still, it was exceedingly rare for them to play a game together, or even separate games in the same room. But there was one thing that the two sides had in common, and that was creativity. It was their purpose, their reason for being, and that came with its own challenges. After all, what would they do if they became bored, and their ideas went stale? They would no longer be useful, and -- well, Roman didn’t want to think further down that road. That was Remus’s territory -- the negative ‘what if’s._ **

**_But back to the point -- Roman and Remus made the decision that they would try something new and exciting for both of them, and that was the Pokemon Nuzlocke challenge. The idea, of course, existed long ago, when someone decided to create their own special rules for their new game of Pokemon Ruby, to make the game more interesting. According to these rules, the player had to catch the first Pokemon encountered on each route and nothing else, and if a Pokemon fainted, it had to be released and considered dead. These rules would make each Pokemon more precious and invoke more dread and despair whenever one would faint -- but it would also give the player more appreciation for Pokemon they never would have considered using until then. This set of rules became known as the Nuzlocke, due to the character “Nuzlocke”, a Nuzleaf from the first Nuzlocke comic._ **

**_Since then, people began creating their own optional sets of rules for their Nuzlockes, and people were inspired to play their own and make comics or fanart of their unique stories. Nuzlocke playthroughs could be found on Youtube; comics could be found on sites such as Deviantart and SmackJeeves. Nuzlockes became a widespread phenomenon and an inspiration for creative works._ **

**_Of course Roman and Remus would be interested in starting their own. It spoke out to them as Thomas’s Creativity -- Remus was interested in the bloodshed and tragedy that would follow, and Roman was interested in the tale of a hero who overcomes hardships and suffering to become the greatest. And so Roman found himself holding a Nintendo DS with a Pokemon HeartGold cartridge inside, while Remus held a GameBoy Advanced with a Pokemon LeafGreen game inside. They would play their runs and then, hopefully, be inspired to create, through some undetermined medium, a chronocalization of their journeys._ **

**_So as soon as the Ho-Oh flew onto his title screen, Roman excitedly pressed the ‘a’ button to start his journey, blissfully unaware of the emotional toil he was about to put himself through on this wild ride._ **

* * *

Roman opened his eyes and found himself in a small square room -- _his_ room, furnished with a nice bed and a PC. It wasn’t much, but he couldn’t really ask for more, living in a small town with a hard-working single mother. One day, he knew he would leave this town and discover there was more to the world than his meager upbringing revealed to him. One day, he would think to himself, every night as he laid his head on his pillow and allowed dreams to envelop his mind.

The chime of a new email sounded off from his PC, breaking him out of his tired morning thoughts. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stumbled over with a yawn, knocking his Snorlax pillow to the ground with his graceless movements. He moved the mouse to his email icon and clicked to find a new message from his childhood friend, Lyra.

ADVENTURE!

EXCITED!

I love POKEMON!

Roman chuckled and deleted the email. Lyra was… an _interesting_ character. She was the sort of friend who would sneak into your house in the middle of the night to show you a funny video of her Marill. Her Pokemon partner was rather clumsy, but they were a good match, and they spread good cheer wherever they went.

Roman appreciated their eccentricities and all the amusement it gave him, but he knew Lyra didn’t have half the determination and skill as he did. _He_ was going to become the next Pokemon Master, without a doubt, and he was going to do it all by himself.

… If only he actually had a Pokemon.

After putting on his special belt for carrying Pokeballs and performing a few morning stretches, Roman treaded down the stairs with careful, methodical steps, and put on a bright smile to greet his mother. “Good morning!”

She jumped up from the table with a glow in her amber eyes, bringing out the yellow. “Roman! Your Pokegear came back from the shop!”

She went off on a long tangent about how annoyed she was at the long wait time for what should have been such a simple fix, before ranting on about how necessary the Pokegear was and reminding him how to use all of its functions. She seemed to forget that Roman wasn’t a child anymore, that he knew how the world worked. He didn’t hold it against her, though; he knew it was just a way she showed her love.

“Mom, I get it,” Roman laughed, taking her by the shoulders. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I just get so worried sometimes,” she said, wiping away a tear and sharing in the laughter. “Well, Professor Elm needs to speak with you. I’m sure it’s something very important, so don’t waste any more time!”

Roman flashed her a smile and waved goodbye as he stepped out of his house and into the sunlight.

**_“This music is so nostalgic!” Roman cried, as the redone version of New Bark Town’s theme began to play._ **

Before Roman could take more than one step, though, a Marill appeared in his path. He leaned down and patted it on the head. “Hi, Marill! What’s up?”

The Marill let out what was an unintelligible cry, but to Roman it was a clear response. _“Today is the day! I’m so excited!”_

“Marill, wait!” A girl with long brown hair sprinted up to them. Her eyes brightened as they met Roman’s, and her cheeks flared. “Oh, Roman! It’s so good to see you! Did you get my e-mail? Do you know what the professor wants you for? Oh, I really hope you get permission to catch your own Pokemon -- then maybe we could battle or something. Though Marill doesn’t like to battle. But, hey, at least then Marill will have a friend!”

“Lyra, I have to go talk to the professor,” Roman said patiently once she stopped to take a breath.

“Of course!” She picked up her Marill and placed it on her head. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? Call me! You remember my number, yeah?”

“ _Yes_ , Lyra, it’s on my Pokegear.” His voice was tinged with annoyance, but she didn’t hear any of it.

“Right! Okay! Bye-bye! Talk to you soon!” Lyra turned around and ran off, stopping every few seconds to wave enthusiastically. She disappeared into her house soon enough and Roman sighed in exasperation.

“Okay, this morning’s off to a slow start, but it could get better,” he told himself as he made his way across town to the lab.

Just as he was approaching the building, he realized there was a person peeking in through the window at the side of the building, muttering something darkly. It was a boy his age, maybe a few years older, with long red hair and a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Roman yelled, dragging attention to the boy.

“Mind your own business,” the boy hissed. Roman placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and in two seconds, he was lying several meters away, grasping at a pain in his side. The red-headed boy was standing above him -- had he thrown him? Roman cursed his lack of martial arts knowledge. The boy’s glare seared into him as he snapped, “Touch me again and your hand will be out of commission.” He then stormed out into the nearby woods, leaving Roman to get to his feet by himself.

“Geez, _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Roman mumbled, as he pushed the experience to the back of his mind and moved back to the front of the lab.

**_“I’m definitely naming this a**hole Remus,” he complained aloud._ **

As soon as he opened the door, an overwhelmingly musty scent drifted into his nostrils and he gagged behind his hand. He contemplated turning around and going home when one of Professor Elm’s aides spotted him and rushed forward to grab his arm.

“Roman!” the aide exclaimed excitedly. “Professor Elm was looking for you.”

“I am aware.”

“Come, come, this way.” The man pulled on his arm like he was dragging a stubborn dog on a short leash. Roman had to jog to keep up with his pace as he was taken down the aisle and toward the back of the laboratory, where Elm was sitting at his computer desk with a box full of donuts and a mug full of caramel-scented coffee. The musty smell only got worse the further in he traveled, and he started to pity the poor Pokemon in the balls displayed on the table; he wondered if they could smell just how bad this place was from inside their Pokeballs.

“Professor, Roman is here to see you,” the aide called out. Elm swung around in his spinny chair immediately, relief flooding his anxious expression once his eyes landed on the boy.

“Roman!” the man cried, waving his strawberry donut. “Good to see you! I have a very important task for you, my boy -- and don’t worry, I’ll compensate you for your trouble afterward.” He scooted his chair all the way across the floor to the table where the Pokeballs sat. “This is a very urgent and simple request, but I’m afraid I can’t send either of my aides, as one of them is allergic to the pine trees on route 30, and the other is home sick from a Spinarak bite.” Professor Elm cleared his throat as he made his way behind the table, then gestured to Roman to come forward. “I need you to head to Mr. Pokemon’s house on route 30, just past Cherrygrove City on the path through the pines, to your right as you head north toward Violet City. You have a map, don’t you?”

Roman nodded. “I have my Pokegear. But, sir, what do you need from Mr. Pokemon’s house?”

“Ah. That, I don’t know myself,” Elm admitted. “However! Mr. Pokemon has been very adamant of the discovery of something incredibly new and exciting, and due to his lack of trust in the safety of electronic or mail communication, he’s asked me to send a trusted associate to his house to collect his findings and safely transport them here to my lab. Roman, my boy, you’re the only one I know I can trust with this.”

“But what if I run into--”

“Ah! That’s right!” Elm’s face brightened. “For your journey, I will be loaning you one of my three rare, battle-bred Pokemon to keep you safe. You may choose which of these three you’d like to take along with you on your trip.” He motioned toward the Pokeballs. “We have Chikorita, the grass type, Cyndaquil, the fire type, and Totodile, the water type. All three of them are equally well-trained, so pick the one you prefer.”

Roman didn’t have to think for long. He reached for the fire-type ball as soon as Professor Elm finished speaking, then pressed the small white button to release the Pokemon. Cyndaquil dropped down on the floor by his feet, looking up at him in mild confusion.

Professor Elm kneeled down beside the small creature and began explaining. “Cyndaquil, you will be traveling with Roman and keeping him safe today while he carries out a chore for me a few routes away, alright?” Cyndaquil nodded determinedly. “Good!” Professor Elm stood back up. “Then, Roman, take a few Potions from my aide as you leave the lab, and stay safe. Remember, Mr. Pokemon’s house on route 30. Good luck!”

Roman nodded and glanced down at the small fire type Pokemon at his feet. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Of course!” the little guy declared, sounding brave and excited. “Let’s go!”

Roman smiled, having a feeling he would like this Pokemon just fine.

As he walked toward the building entrance, the aide scurried up to him and handed him some Potions. “Thank you so much, Roman! I’m just so worried about my allergies, you know? Heaven forbid I go into anaphylactic shock out alone in the woods -- and who knows if a single Pokemon is enough to stay safe out there, you know? And--”

“No worries,” Roman interrupted. “Sorry, but I have to go let my mom know where I’m going and get started immediately if I want to make it home by supper.”

“Of course! Of course.” The aide adjusted his glasses and backed away. “Good day, young Roman, and good luck.”

Roman thanked him, but honestly, he didn’t think he’d need good luck. He was pretty sure things were going to turn out just fine with Cyndaquil at his side.

He led the way to his house and knocked on the front door seconds before opening it. “Hey, mom?” He saw her standing in the kitchen, drying some clean dishes. Freshly baked banana bread sat in a pan on the stove, the scent making Roman sigh pleasantly.

“Roman! What did Professor Elm want wi--” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of the Cyndaquil at his feet, sniffing the air curiously.

It paused and looked up at Roman’s mom, then smiled warmly. “Hello!”

In seconds, Roman’s mother was down on the floor squeezing the fire Pokemon against her chest, ranting about how cute it was, and how she’d never seen its type before, and asking why Professor Elm thought him responsible enough for such an amazing creature.

“Mom, mom!” Roman tugged her back to free the small Pokemon that had been struggling to breathe through the tight hug. “It’s not mine -- I’m just boring it for a chore. Professor Elm asked me to grab him something at Mr. Pokemon’s house and loaned me one of his Pokemon so I can get there safely. That’s it.” As he said the words, though, a vague disappointment washed over him. He would have loved to finally have a Pokemon of his own…

“Oh.” His mother looked about as disappointed as he did. “... Well, it was nice to meet you, uh…” She tilted her head. “What’s your name?”

“I haven’t been given a name yet,” the Cyndaquil responded. “When I get a trainer, they’re going to name me. But I’m a Cyndaquil.”

“A Cyndaquil…” Roman’s mother’s voice sounded floaty. “I’ve never heard of those before… You must be a rare species.”

“Not as rare as a legendary, but we’re not very common around here,” Cyndaquil responded chattily. “At least, that’s what the professor told me. I was born in the lab, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Born in the lab?” she sounded confused.

“Yep!” he chirped. “Born and raised for battle!” He seemed to vibrate with excitement. “I’m going to win the Pokemon League challenge and enter the Hall of Fame one day!”

“Me too.” Roman flashed him a grin. “I’m going to become the Pokemon Champion. I’ll travel all of Johto and train the best team known to man!”

Cyndaquil looked up at him then, as if seeing him for the first time. “Really? I didn’t know there was a trainer in New Bark Town already!”

Roman chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I -- I’m not actually a trainer yet. I haven’t gotten my first Pokemon.” He cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes. “But once I have the chance, I’m going to do everything within my power to make my dream a reality!”

Cyndaquil watched him with a small o-shaped mouth, which quickly turned into a wide grin when Roman finished. “That’s awesome! Me too, except I need a trainer.” He paused, the cogs in his head turning. “What if -- what if _you_ could be my trainer?”

Roman blinked. “Me? You -- you want _me_ as your trainer? I’ve barely spoken five sentences with you!”

“Why not!” Cyndaquil jumped in place, his voice bright and excited. “It’s not like I’ve spoken five sentences with many people, and you seem alright so far. Maybe fate made us partners for a reason -- even if it’s just for a day.”

“Fate, hmm?” Roman had always been a believer in destiny. After all, he was certain his own was marked for greatness; he just knew it, with more certainty than he knew his multiplication table.

“Let’s battle some Pokemon on the way to Mr. Pokemon’s house!” Cyndaquil suggested. “Who knows, we might make a pretty good team!”

Roman beamed. “You’re right! We have this opportunity -- let’s make the most of it!” He turned to his mother. “I’m going to head out now. I’ll try to be home for supper.”

Roman’s mother kissed him on the forehead. “Just be safe, alright? Call if you get held up. You know how to call, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, mom.” He shrugged his backpack further up on his shoulders, then gestured to his Pokemon. “Let us depart!”

“Depart!” Cyndaquil cried, turning and tackling open the door. He ended up falling flat on his face in the doorway.

“How about we leave the doors to me,” Roman suggested with a chuckle, as he held open the front door. The fire type saluted before scurrying outside. Roman waved goodbye to his mother before shutting the door, leaving the familiar scent of home behind.


	2. Chapter 1.2 - Cherrygrove City

One thing Roman quickly learned about his temporary partner was his contagious excitement and thrill for battling. As soon as they found a patch of tall grass in the nearby route, Cyndaquil was barrelling into it headfirst, ready to tackle a wild Pokemon into submission.

“Hey, wait!” Roman called out, kneeling down and crawling through the blades in search of his small partner.

“Uh-oh,” he heard the little guy say. Before Roman could ask what he meant, there was the sound of two bodies colliding and the little echidna-like creature slammed right into his chest.

Roman stumbled and dropped onto his knees, his arms coming out to gently hold Cyndaquil up. “You all right?” he asked, concerned.

The fire-type merely laughed and leapt out of his arms. “Of course I am! You think a Rattata could take me out?”

“I --” Roman cleared his throat. “Well,  _ no _ , I’d hope not, but--”

“Sit back and watch how it’s done!” Cyndaquil exclaimed, running forward hastily and disappearing in the brush.

“Wait!” Roman hurried after him, swatting away the grass that swung in his face. “This is a  _ team _ !”

Cyndaquil stopped in his tracks, feet away from a terrified Rattata, who was cowering and whipping its tail back and forth frantically like a white flag. “Oh, yeah.” He cocked his head up at Roman. “What are you supposed to do?”

Roman face-palmed. “I’m your trainer. You’re supposed to wait for me to tell you what moves to do. … What moves do you have, anyway?”

“I know Leer and Tackle!” Cyndaquil said proudly, puffing up his chest.

“... Oh.”

Cyndaquil glanced over at the wild Rattata, who was slowly inching away into the grass. “... So, can I tackle it?”

Roman nodded. “Yes. Yes, you can.” At hearing those words, the Rattata squealed and sprinted away.

“Hey!” Cyndaquil shouted, sounding offended. “Come back here! I need to tackle you!”

Roman sighed. “Well, I guess exp is exp.” He hitched his backpack higher up on his back and straightened his empty belt. “Time to get to work.”

* * *

Before long, Roman had lost and found the trail to Cherrygrove about four times, and Cyndaquil discovered how to create a dense cloud of smoke and temporarily blind his new trainer.

“Alright, let’s move on,” Roman said, blinking rapidly and rubbing at his eyes. “I need a nurse to take a look at my eyes.”

“Okay,” Cyndaquil replied morosely. Roman paused and corrected his tone.

“I’m not upset with you; don’t worry.” He smiled at the little creature, who looked up at him hopefully. “That was a sign that you’re improving! I have no doubt it’s going to be a useful move in the future. You should be proud.”

“ _ You _ should be proud!” Cyndaquil retorted with a grin. “I almost got knocked out by that Pidgey; if you hadn’t gotten us away when you did, it might’ve made me faint!”

“Well, with time, you’ll grow to learn your limits,” Roman said reasonably. “And I think you were right -- we do make a decent team.” He glanced up at the straight road ahead of them, leading out of the forest. He could see a city coming up in the distance. “And look -- we’re almost at Cherrygrove.”

“Have you been there before?” Cyndaquil asked.

“A few times, but mostly when I was younger,” Roman replied. “There was a festival and thousands of people came out to celebrate the new champion.” His eyes lit up recalling the memory. “It was the most extraordinary thing I’d ever seen.”

“Is that why you wanted to become the champion?”

Roman thought it over. “That might be part of the reason, but no -- I’ve always longed for more adventure and to have a tale of my own that rivalled the great stories we hear about at home.”

“Maybe we will,” Cyndaquil said optimistically, straightening as the two of them grew closer to the end of the forest.

“I do hope so.”

A few short minutes later, the two arrived at the edge of Cherrygrove City. It was a rather enclosed and small town surrounded on two sides by the sea and bordered by forest trails on the others. Roman remembered it being much larger when he was a young boy, standing by his mother’s side with his back to the waters. The bright blue shine of the Pokemart’s roof caught his eye before the dulled red of the Pokemon Center. A few dozen squat houses sat between him and the far sea, where he could see a small island in the distance.

“Woooow,” Cyndaquil said in a breathy voice.

“You can’t be impressed by this,” Roman said with a chuckle, although he found himself captivated by the new environment as well. “There’s a whole world out there to be explored.”

“And I thought New Bark Town was pretty big!”

Roman scoffed and was about to correct him on that matter, when he remembered that Cyndaquil had rarely ever -- if ever -- left the lab. Of course New Bark Town would seem enormous to him. A trunk would seem large to an ant who’d lived its life inside a bottle.

An elderly voice cried out to him. “Hey, you! Rookie!” Roman followed the sound of the voice. An old man was standing just outside the Pokemon Center, raising an eyebrow at him and leaning heavily on a wobbly cane. “You got a Pokegear?”

“Uh… Yes? W-Wait, who’re you calling a rookie?!”

The old man stumbled over to him. “Do you got a map card?”

Roman faltered. “Well -- uh… No?”

“Here!” The man threw his hand into his pocket, and then slammed it into Roman’s hand, simulating the motion of a hand shake. A small card fell into Roman’s palm. “The last rookie who came through here didn’t have one. Trainers these days are asinine! Who leaves home these days without a map? All this technology and not even a map! Not on paper, not even an  _ electronic  _ one!” He shook his head. “And to think, we trust the future of this world in hands like these.” He grabbed Roman by the wrists, examining his hands. “These aren’t the hands of a hard worker. Yer working with a fire type here. You gotta be  _ tough _ . These things could burn you alive if you don’t tell ‘em who’s boss.”

“Hold it!” Roman cried, pulling himself out of the man’s grasp. “I’m not his  _ boss _ ; Cyndaquil and I are  _ teammates _ .”

“And I wouldn’t do that!” Cyndaquil argued, scrunching up his face. “But if you don’t walk away right now, I might burn your eyes!” A light smoke began to emanate from his body.

“Mad, this world has become,” the man said, shaking his head as he staggered off.

Roman waited until the man was out of hearing range before he stated, “Well, that was unpleasant.”

“What did he give you?” Cyndaquil asked, glancing at Roman’s curled hand.

Roman uncurled his hand to reveal the map card. “Well, as rude as he came off, I guess his intentions weren’t so bad. He gave me a map card.” Roman knelt down so Cyndaquil could climb on his lap and watch as he inserted the map card. The Pokegear took a few moments to register the device, and then it presented a map of each of the towns, cities, and natural formations in the whole region of Johto.

“Wow, we only went that far?” Cyndaquil pointed his nub-like feet at the centimeter of a distance between New Bark Town and Cherrygrove City on the map. “The world is big!”

“And this is only Johto,” Roman pointed out excitedly. “We have the whole world to explore!”

Cyndaquil frowned. “The whole world…”

Roman took notice of the Pokemon’s slumped shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“I… Do you think the professor will let me go soon? Or when you get back will I be put back in the Pokeball to wait years and years for a new trainer?”

Roman pursed his lips and placed a gentle palm on Cyndaquil’s head. “No, that won’t happen. I’ll speak to him for you --  _ with  _ you -- and we’ll work it out. Don’t you fret.”

Cyndaquil smiled weakly and nuzzled his head into Roman’s palm. “Okay. I won’t.”

Roman laughed and picked Cyndaquil up in his arms, carrying him into the nearby Pokemon Center. The facility was lively, with the television monitors on the walls showing glimpses of the Pokeathlon events of the day, in which Team Mendel and Irvin were very close to a tie leading up to the final round of the Power course. The nurse at the front desk was holding a slumped Spinarak and frowning while its trainer fervently told her it needed healed.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with him; he’s simply fatigued. Have you been giving him proper rest?”

“Come on, just give him an energy boost -- I need to get going now! By the time I get to Violet City, the gym will be closed for the night! I have to face Falkner by then!”

The nurse’s eyes flashed coldly. “I’m afraid that would not be within my power; we are legally and morally forbidden from taking any action that could harm a living person or Pokemon. And you should know that Violet City’s gym specializes in flying types; your Spinarak would have a tough time facing those Pokemon as it is, even without its exhaustion and your poor training factored in.”

“Wow, she’s harsh,” Cyndaquil murmured.

“I expect she’s seen enough trainers come in and out to know when someone’s not qualified to be in this profession,” Roman replied with a shrug. He walked over to an available nurse and handed over Cyndaquil to be looked over. He then asked the nurse if someone could give him a quick eye checkup, and flashed his insurance card.

After making sure they were both well, they went over to the food court, where Cyndaquil munched on some pellet-looking food with a Mareep while Roman had a couple slices of pepperoni pizza and listened to the tv. He kept a close eye on Cyndaquil, though, since some of the trainers had their eye on him and were whispering back and forth. They’d probably never seen a Pokemon like him before; Roman sure hadn’t.

Once their stomachs settled, Roman and Cyndaquil made their way north, battling a couple Pidgey and Rattata that stood in their way, and trading life stories.

“Chikorita was really mean, but really slow,” Cyndaquil stated matter-of-factly while he dodged a Pidgey’s attack. The bird Pokemon squawked at him for releasing a Smokescreen. Cyndaquil had gotten better at only using the move when Roman was far away, which he appreciated. “Whenever he tried to attack me, I would usually be out of range. I think he had a complex. And Totodile was cool, but he mostly kept to himself. He’d do what he had to do -- and he really was a good fighter -- but then he’d be okay with going to sleep until the next day, and he wouldn’t play or train with me after Elm said he was free. So I bothered Chikorita a lot. Which is probably why he resented me, but what else could I do?” With a well-timed Tackle, the wild Pidgey was knocked out.

“Wow. I picked you because of fire,” Roman said slowly.

Cyndaquil gave him an odd look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“No, I mean --” Roman huffed a sigh. “It sounds to me like I wouldn’t have connected with either of them as well as I do with you, and -- and I didn’t even make that choice because of  _ personality _ . I chose you for something as insignificant as your typing. Which isn’t necessarily  _ wrong _ , because typing  _ does  _ matter, but -- if we didn’t get along, it wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest what your type was.”

“I don’t hold it against you. You chose me, and that’s all that matters,” Cyndaquil replied happily, skipping onward. “Now, let’s keep going! I want to battle some more!”

“Hey, let’s not take on the whole route at once,” Roman warned, jogging to catch up with him. “I only have about five Potions -- those things are  _ expensive _ .” Roman feared how much Pokeballs were going to cost. “Let’s do what we came here to do first -- find Mr. Pokemon -- and then we can take on as many Pokemon as we want on the way back home. Deal?”

Cyndaquil sighed, resigned. “Dea-- wait, is that it?”

Roman squinted and realized the road they were on would pass a small building up ahead. “I don’t know. I doubt it -- I believe there’s supposed to be a fork in the road, and Mr. Pokemon’s house is on the trail to the  _ right _ . But we can stop by and ask.”

Cyndaquil scurried forward to the house and headbutted the door twice. The door swung open before Roman even caught up with his Pokemon.

“Hmm? Who is this?” The man gazed curiously down at the fire-type.

“Sorry to intrude. Is this Mr. Pokemon’s house?” Roman asked. The exasperated expression on the man’s face told him it wasn’t.

“No, I’m afraid not. It seems everyone nowadays is confusing my house for Mr. Pokemon’s, knocking on my door in the middle of meals, in the middle of the night, in the middle of anything. No, no, son, I don’t blame you,” he added quickly, when Roman started to look apologetic. “I just didn’t pick the smartest place to build my home. Wait -- before you go, I’ve got a little something for you.” The man took a step further into his house, grabbed a box from his counter, and stepped back to the door. “I’ve got no use for this, so you might as well take it, you being a trainer and all.” Roman took the box from him. Noting his confusion, the man continued, “It’s an Apricorn box. You see that tree in my yard?” The man pointed to a small tree sprouting what looked like a fruit. “Trees like that, take their fruit and keep it in this box. It’ll store them nicely. Then, if you see a ball maker, like Kurt from Azalea Town -- that’s the famous one -- you can use these to make Pokeballs. Then you won’t need to buy so many of those fancy-pants expensive ones. Trust me, they’ll work just as well.”

“Thank you,” Roman said sincerely, staring at the box in awe. He had just been worrying about the cost of Pokeballs. “I’m sorry I disturbed your home.”

“No, no, it’s my pleasure,” the man said, with a laugh. “It’s been rather lonely anyhow. No wife and kids anymore to take up space.” A sad look crossed his face. “You take care, son.” He nodded to the Cyndaquil. “Take care of him.”

“I will,” Cyndaquil said firmly. The man’s smile looked somewhat sad as he closed the door, leaving Roman and Cyndaquil with plenty to think about on the remainder of their trip.

* * *

The trip to Mr. Pokemon’s house was long, but Cyndaquil seemed to be enjoying every second of the outdoors. Roman offered him a ride in his arms, but Cyndaquil was adamant about getting the chance to run around freely. His energy seemed boundless, and Roman secretly admired it -- even if the Pokemon’s rashness when it came to attacking any Pokemon it saw was something he had to work through.

Eventually they arrived, and after shaking the fruit off the nearby Apricorn tree, Roman knocked on the door. He heard a voice tell him to enter, so he pulled open the door and saw two men talking on different sides of a table. One was looking through some computer files while the other waved Roman over.

“Ah, so you must be Roman. Professor Elm told me to expect you. I am Mr. Pokemon.” The man shook hands with him. “I see you have Elm’s Cyndaquil with you.” He looked carefully over the Pokemon. “He seems quite attached to you.” The older man at the computer turned at that, his narrowed eyes examining Cyndaquil closely, and then Roman. He walked over then to introduce himself.

“Excuse me. My name is Professor Oak.” Roman’s eyes widened as he shook the professor’s hand; this man was world-renowned for his expertise on Pokemon. “I came here because Mr. Pokemon’s discovery intrigued me, but I’m a busy man, and I don’t have the time to take on the research for myself. Still, I managed a day off to come see my old friend before I have to leave for Goldenrod City for my talk show.” He cleared his throat. “Well, that’s enough about me. Now… I think I see why Professor Elm entrusted you with that Pokemon.”

“You do?” Roman asked, confused.

“I do.” Professor Oak nodded to himself, then reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like a red box. “Here, take this, as a gift from me to you. It’s a Pokedex -- the ultimate encyclopedia on Pokemon. It will help you immeasurably on your Pokemon journey.” Roman’s mouth opened wide in shock. “Careful, a Pokemon might fly in.” Roman closed his mouth.

“But -- sir -- you see, I’m not an official -- this was just an errand. Professor Elm hasn’t stated that I can keep Cyndaquil as my own Pokemon.”

Professor Oak’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Then tell him what I gave you, and see if he changes his mind.” He placed the device in Roman’s hands and waved to the other man in the room. “Mr. Pokemon, I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Take care.”

With that, Professor Oak stepped out of the door and headed off toward Violet City. Roman exchanged a shocked and semi-hopeful look with Cyndaquil, then returned his attention to Mr. Pokemon.

“Ah, let me give you what you came here for.” Mr. Pokemon walked over to his desk and grabbed a white egg with red and blue markings on it, then crossed the room to Roman.

“Wai-- what--” Roman stepped back and pointed. “That’s an egg!”

“Indeed it is,” the man replied, continuing to walk toward him.

“I -- This is what he wants?! What if it hatches while I’m bringing it back?!”

“Doubtful. It hasn’t even begun shaking yet. I doubt it’ll hatch for at least a couple days. And if it does, all you need to do is hold the newborn until you get back to the lab, and when you do, I’m sure Elm will have no choice but to make you a Pokemon trainer. After all, newborns imprint on the first who hold them.” Mr. Pokemon forced the egg into Roman’s hands. “Be gentle with it. This egg is an incredible mystery to us all. We may have just discovered a brand new Pokemon. You  _ must  _ return this safely.”

“No pressure,” Roman whispered jokingly, holding the egg tight and secure against his chest. He felt no responding movement from the object, which made him relax only slightly.

“That’s all I have for you. You’d better leave now if you want to make it back by nightfall.” Mr. Pokemon nodded his goodbye, warning Roman and Cyndaquil to be safe, before rushing them out.

Roman barely had time to process this before the door was shut, and then his Pokegear started to ring in his pocket.

“What is it now?” he groaned, fishing out the device and holding it to his ear.

“ROMAN! ROMAN, I-IT’S TERRIBLE!”

Roman held the Pokegear out from his ear while Professor Elm continued to rant. “Someone has -- it’s -- oh, it’s just awful! What to do… what to do…” The professor sounded on the verge of an anxiety attack.

“Professor…?” Roman felt dread creep up inside his stomach.

“Oh, just get back here quickly!” The professor then hung up, leaving him terribly confused.

“Is everything alright?” Cyndaquil asked.

“I don’t know,” Roman replied nervously. He double-checked that his grip on the egg was secure but not too tight, and then nodded to his partner. “We’d better get back as soon as possible. Try and defeat the wild Pokemon quickly, alright?”  
“I thought we were going to finally train freely,” Cyndaquil said, sounding disappointed.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Roman said earnestly. “But Elm sounded like he was in trouble. And it’s more important for us to try and protect those in need.”

Cyndaquil mulled over his words carefully before nodding. “Yeah. You’re right. … Then, let’s head back. … But I reserve the right to fight any Pokemon that gets in our way!”

Roman smiled. “That, I can agree on.”

* * *

It took many hours for the two to travel back to Cherrygrove, during which Roman only had to pull Cyndaquil away from a battle once, after he tackled a Metapod eight times and still hardly damaged its rough exterior. Roman put the egg in his rather empty bag and fastened the small safety strap across his waist. The sun was setting as he led his Pokemon through the Center doors and sent him away for healing.

Roman’s mind was racing as he waited for Cyndaquil to go through the basic post-battling check-up. Professor Elm had sounded so frightened -- had something happened to the lab? Had something happened to his home, or his mom? Was there a Pokemon attack on his town? Something like that had never happened before, but you never knew when something crazy might happen -- he’d heard stories of children playing in the woods only to be electrocuted by a grumpy Pikachu, or Tentacruel pulling people into the ocean after being angered…

“Hey! Roman!” His head shot up just in time for Cyndaquil to leap off the nurse’s desk and onto his face. Roman peeled him off with a laugh and set him down. “The lady with the Hoothoot back there has a crush on you!”

Roman didn’t bother looking in the direction Cyndaquil was pointing to. He rolled his eyes at the little Pokemon and said, “Alright, let’s head back.”

“But -- but aren’t you going to go say hi?” Cyndaquil asked, confused by Roman’s indifference as they passed through the door and headed outside.

“No. Remember, we have important business to attend to.”

“But what if you guys are a good match? Like we are! What if you’re avoiding fate?”

Roman sighed. “Look, I’m not interested in girls. I’m only interested in--” He suddenly froze, his feet planted firmly on the ground. “-- guys.”

Cyndaquil looked up at what made his temporary trainer stop. A boy with long red hair stood in the way, his fiery eyes fixed on Roman and a grimace on his face.

“So. I see you have a Pokemon, too,” the boy mused.

“Roman, do you know this guy?” Cyndaquil asked skeptically. Roman didn’t respond.

“Well, I have a Pokemon as well. And it’s much stronger than yours.”

“Then prove it!” Cyndaquil argued.

The boy’s eyes flashed. “Fine. Take a good long look.” He threw the Pokeball at the ground in front of him and a bright light enveloped the area. When they opened their eyes again, a Totodile was standing there, looking disoriented.

“Totodile!” Cyndaquil exclaimed.

Roman blinked. “Wait -- is this the same one you were talking about?”

“Totodile, use Scratch!” the red-headed boy commanded. The Totodile cast Cyndaquil a long look before charging forward.

“Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen!” Totodile still managed to scrape its claws against Cyndaquil, though it clearly wasn’t attacking at its full strength. Its trainer commanded it to do the same thing, and Cyndaquil looked back at Roman, expectantly waiting for his next order. “Smokescreen once more, and then have at ‘em!” Cyndaquil grinned in agreement and did exactly that.

The red-headed boy’s Totodile only brushed against Cyndaquil the next time, and then he was struggling to even see Cyndaquil through the smoke. That gave the fire-type the leverage it needed to land a critical blow and win the battle.

“See? Who’s the strongest now?” Cyndaquil taunted once the smoke cleared, revealing the clear winner. The red-headed boy gritted his teeth as he leaned down and held out the Pokeball, returning Totodile with a red flash of light. A small card fell out of his pocket, which he didn’t notice.

The boy stood up and glared at Roman. “I’m going to be the world’s strongest trainer. I don’t have time for weaklings like you.” He stormed forward and shoved Roman to the side before walking away.

“Wait a minute!” Roman cried, frustrated. The boy stopped and turned around, fixing him with a frown. Roman reached down and picked up the card, seeing that it was the boy’s trainer id. He whispered the name to himself curiously before holding up the card. “Good luck defeating a gym without your trainer id.” The red-headed boy grumbled to himself as he snatched his id from Roman’s hands and fled the city.

“Who was that?” Cyndaquil asked.

“I don’t know,” Roman replied. “I saw him in town today, but never before that.” He recalled seeing the boy by Professor Elm’s lab, and wondered if there was any connection. He glanced up at the darkening sky. “We need to hurry back. It’s going to be dark soon.”

Cyndaquil nodded and walked side-by-side with Roman as they traveled down the path through the forest route toward New Bark Town, hoping against hope that they would make it there in time to solve whatever it was that had Elm so panicked.

What they didn’t notice was the cautious little Rattata watching their battle from behind a tree, and following them all the way back to their hometown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Anyone who submits a piece of fanart to me for any of the nuzlockes will have their work posted along with the next chapter of the story, AND they will be allowed to promote themselves! What I mean by that is, I will put down whatever contact information you want along with that picture (be it an email address, a social media account that people can contact you and/or support you through, a website you put your art, etc.), as well as one unrelated art piece or charity that you would like to promote. It can be yours or someone else's, a picture or a video, or a link to somewhere people can donate either to you or to a cause.  
> I would say to keep it safe for work, and put warnings for overly graphic content or harsh language. Also, for every piece you create and submit, you will be able to promote either the same thing or something entirely different, so if you want to promote 10 different causes, feel free to go wild on the art!! It will make me happy in these sad times :3  
> Worst case scenario, I get nothing and these paragraphs were written for nothing, and that's okay too.  
> Please leave a comment when you submit something to me. You can put links to your work and promotion in the comments, or you can email them to me, BUT EVEN IF YOU EMAIL ME, make sure you leave a comment in case it gets sent to spam, so I know to look for it and I can reply to you if I don't get it! My email is Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.  
> The main reason I'm doing this is, admittedly, because I would love to see art for these stories and can't make anything decent on my own, and I'd like a way to motivate others to create in a way that helps them equally, despite not having the money to commission artists.}


	3. Chapter 1.3 - Leaving Home

**_Cyndaquil - Lv 9_ **

The travel back to New Bark Town would have been a pleasant one, had Roman not been concerned about Professor Elm’s call. He wanted to run through the woods, but running at night wasn’t a good idea, even if you had a fire-type Pokemon at your side. Cyndaquil didn’t seem to be as eager to return to the lab. He was humming Country Roads while he struggled to keep pace with Roman, though he looked longingly back at Cherrygrove City as it vanished into the tree growth behind them.

Roman couldn’t really blame him. He’d always longed to travel around the world as well, and he wasn’t looking forward to coming back to captivity. But he wasn’t just about to leave the professor hanging when he was in dire need of help -- above all, Roman longed to be a hero, and he would never refuse a cry for help.

When they finally reached their hometown, it didn’t take long to realize something was very,  _ very  _ wrong. There wasn’t any smoke or fire making it obvious where and what the trouble was, but there were people standing around all over town, whispering in hushed groups.

Roman couldn’t find his mother among the people, nor Elm or any of his associates. However, he spotted a police officer speaking with one of his neighbors, and rushed forward, Cyndaquil yelping and scurrying after him, not wanting to be left alone.

“Excuse me, sir -- but what happened?” Roman asked once the officer raised his eyes to look at him.

“Someone broke into Professor Elm’s Pokemon lab,” the officer explained. “A classic case of breaking and entering, and theft. I can’t tell you much more since the investigation is ongoing, but it seems the perpetrator has escaped and isn’t from the area. I doubt he’s going to return, with everyone on high alert as they are, but I suggest you head home and lock up.”

Roman nodded, but once the officer turned away, he sprinted toward Elm’s lab, ducked under the yellow police tape he now saw blocking the door, and entered.

As soon as Roman stepped into the lab, he heard a shout of, “Freeze!” Alarmed, he raised his hands, and Cyndaquil did the same thing at his feet. There were several officers in the building, and the glass window to his left was shattered, with yellow police tape closing off the area. One of the officers moved toward him, frowning. “Hey, you. What are you doing here at the scene of the crime?”

Roman’s mouth felt dry and he struggled to find the words to respond. Thankfully, he didn’t have to -- a familiar body ran over to defend him.

“Hey! Roman’s not the thief!” Lyra cried, her fists clenched at her sides. “He would never do that! He was just coming back from an errand the professor sent him on!”

“Relax, relax,” the officer said passively. “I’m just being cautious here. It’s my job. I’m not going to lock up your boyfriend just because he--”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Her cheeks were tinted pink.

**_“Ugh, why did they make Lyra and Ethan gender-determined in Pokemon HeartGold?” Roman complained. “I mean, all women are queens, and I don’t mean to disparage her, but -- I want a_ ** **male** **_love interest, not a_ ** **female** **_one. Is that too much to ask?”_ **

**_“Well, then why don’t you name your rival Virgil instead, and just pretend you got some gay sh*t going on between you?”_ **

**_Roman briefly mulled it over._ **

Roman’s eyes fell on the table by Professor Elm and he realized a Pokeball was missing. “I think I know who it was, though,” he realized. “There was a red-headed boy standing outside the window earlier today. I ran into him on the way here, and he had a rare Pokemon with him. Was it a Pokemon that was stolen here?”

The officer’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Describe the individual. What do you know about him?”

“His hair was long, and he had a bad attitude and resorted to violence quickly. I think he knew martial arts. … Oh, and his name was Virgil.”

The officer wrote the information down on a notepad. “Thank you! We will look into the suspect immediately.”

“Oh! Roman!” Professor Elm suddenly spotted him and gestured for him to come forward. The officer let him go, and Lyra smiled bashfully at him before turning around and heading home for the night.

Professor Elm looked as timid and anxious as ever. He recapped the events of the night for Roman -- how the lights went out, and when they came back on, the Pokemon was stolen.

“It couldn’t get much worse,” the professor huffed. There was a brief silence, and then he shot straight up. “That’s right! Roman, what did you get from Professor Elm?” Roman took out the Pokedex and the egg from his bag and handed the egg over. The professor gasped. “A Pokemon egg?! No -- this is one unlike any I’ve ever seen before.” Professor Elm examined the egg carefully, then sat it down on the table. “I will have to do some research of my own, it seems.” He glanced down at Cyndaquil, then back up at Roman. “Cyndaquil looks a bit stronger and happier than he did before. The sunlight must have done him some good.”

_ ‘Yeah, I’m sure being anywhere but here was a big help,’ _ Roman thought, as he tried to ignore his sense of smell.

“Professor! I want to travel with Roman!” Cyndaquil exclaimed. The professor’s eyes widened. “I’ve gotten to battle out there and I’m ready -- I know I am!” He stood on his hind legs and touched Roman’s knee. “And Roman’s a really good trainer, and we both have the same goal of beating the Pokemon Gym challenge!”

“Roman, you --” Professor Elm looked shocked. “You want to become the Pokemon Champion?”

“More than anything else in the world,” Roman replied confidently.

Professor Elm sat down in his chair, his face thoughtful and closed-off. “Well… The Pokemon Gym challenge is rather dangerous… Deadly, even. There’s not a single trainer who’s won and had more than horrors to tell. I’m not sure you’re as ready as you think you are.”

“Professor, I was made for this!” Cyndaquil retorted. “And I can tell that Roman is, too. I want to become his starter Pokemon! I want to go on my own adventure!”

Professor Elm sighed. “I suppose nothing I could say would change your mind?” Both human and Pokemon shook their heads. “Well then… The challenge is tough, but I can at least give you a decent start, so you can avoid unnecessary strife and pain.” He examined both of their determined faces carefully. “I do think you two would make a good match, have no doubt about that. I do think you can take care of yourselves. But as much as I fear you may be too reckless, Professor Oak clearly believes you have the potential.” He gestured toward the Pokedex in Roman’s hands. “And so should I. … My associate will give you Pokeballs. The first gym is north, past route 30 and Mr. Pokemon’s house, using the left road. Make a left at Dark Cave and you will soon find yourselves at Violet City. Falkner is the flying-type gym leader, and the first one you should challenge.” He placed a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “If you find it too difficult, come straight home.”

“I won’t,” Roman replied. “But thank you.”

“Take care of Cyndaquil,” The professor said softly. “... Or, actually, you should give him a name.”

Cyndaquil looked up at Roman expectantly. Roman thought for a moment, then stated, “Thomas.” Cyndaquil murmured the name. “Your name is Thomas.” The Cyndaquil nodded.

**_“Thomas is now my partner, who I get to watch as he grows up, and take on the world with!” Roman exclaimed._ **

**_Remus scoffed. “You’re such a nerd.”_ **

**_Roman pressed the button to talk to his Cyndaquil, and the screen said,_ ** **“Thomas is staring intently at Roman’s face.”**

**_“We all have the same face,” Roman said aloud._ **

**_Remus raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”_ **

**_“I don’t know. Thomas is staring at my face -- that’s what came to mind.”_ **

“Good luck to you, Roman and Thomas!” Professor Elm gave them a wave, then turned back to speak to one of the nearby officers.

Roman smiled down sheepishly at his starter Pokemon. “Well, Thomas, shall we go?”

“Where are we going?” Thomas asked excitedly, hopping up and down. Roman took that as a ‘yes.’

“Well…” Roman paused to consider his options. “It’s getting late, so as much as I’d like to go train, we should probably head home and get prepared to head out first thing tomorrow.” His eyes widened. “Oh, that’s right! We have to tell mom I’m a Pokemon trainer now!” He grinned down at Thomas. “And you and I get the chance to eat some homemade banana bread and cookies.”

“What’s banana bread?” Thomas asked innocently. Roman gasped in an exaggerated manner.

“That question, my fiery little fellow, is a crime in and of itself. Come on!” He jogged out of the building, ignoring the cries from various officers for him to slow down and be careful. Thomas rushed to keep up with him as they sprinted across the night-lit town and toward his home, for what would probably be the last time in a while.

* * *

Roman’s mother stared down at the lit oven as the cookies inside slowly began to expand. “So, you’re going to leave me…”

“That’s not the way I’d put it,” Roman laughed awkwardly. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Thomas on the seat beside him, struggling to stand high enough on his two back feet to see above the table’s edge.

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “All boys leave home someday, don’t they?”

“I’m going to become the world’s greatest Pokemon trainer,” Roman promised. “I’ll challenge the Elite Four and come home the Champion of Johto. Just you wait.”

“I don’t doubt it,” she replied, smiling. “But still… is there anything I could do to help you? Anything at all?”

“Make me more chocolate chip cookies?” Roman asked sheepishly.

“Hear, hear!” Thomas chirped.

* * *

As Roman stepped out of his house, waving goodbye to his mom for the last time and letting her kiss his forehead, he said, “Thomas, are you ready to go?”

Thomas was silent for a moment, before suddenly jumping. “Oh! Oh, right!”

**“Thomas doesn’t seem used to its own name yet,”** **_the game stated._ **

Roman laughed it off and led his Pokemon outside, still in awe that this was his Pokemon, that he was a trainer, that he was going out to venture the world and carve out his own story. It was like a dream come true… well, a dream in the making. The dream come true would be the moment he and his beloved team made it into the Hall of Fame. A tale of heroics and glory… That was his destiny. He couldn’t wait.

The news traveled around town fast, probably thanks to Lyra, who came barrelling toward him, excitedly chatting about how happy she was for him. Some of his neighbors crowded him, smiling encouragingly, while a few others stood back, looking strangely sad, for a reason he couldn’t yet comprehend.  _ (Oh, but he would.) _

It took some time, but eventually Lyra let him go, after handing him the Pokeballs that Elm’s associate had for him. The town waved him off as he travelled into the woods.

“Ah, alone at last,” Roman mused.

“Time for training?” Thomas asked excitedly.

“Actually…” Roman held out a Pokeball with a grin. “Time to make a new friend.”

The moment Thomas’s face lit up in understanding was wonderful to watch. “Oh, I can’t wait!” He rushed off toward the tall grass. “It’s one per route, right? Elm taught us all the legal mambo-jambo, but I forget most of it -- it wasn’t important to me.”

“It’s mumbo-jumbo. And we can only catch the first one on the route,” Roman corrected. “So, slow down and wait for me. I need to be there to throw the--”

**“Hey.”**

“Who was that?!” Thomas jumped backwards out of the grass he had just put a paw in. There was a rustling inside, and then a small, scrawny Rattata crawled out.

“ _ Me _ ,” the Rattata responded, its voice betraying a snarky personality. “I saw you battling earlier. Wanted to ask you--”

“Excellent!” Roman cried. “Thomas, use Tackle!”

The Rattata blinked. “Wait, no, I just--”

“No hard feelings!” Thomas exclaimed as he slammed into the tiny rat, landing on top of the dazed creature.

“Great job! Now back away, Thomas!” Roman grabbed a Pokeball, shook it for good luck, aimed, and chuckled it at the rat.

In a beam of bright white light, the Rattata was enveloped and vanished into the Pokeball. Roman and Thomas watched, entranced, as the ball fell to the ground and shook clockwise. They exchanged glances as the ball paused before turning counterclockwise.

“Please go in, please go in, please go in,” Roman whispered. Thomas leaned forward with a pleading look in his eyes, eager for another acquaintance.

The ball turned clockwise again. Both human and Pokemon waited, breathless, as the ball went still for several seconds.

And then...

**_Click._ **

A wide grin spread across Roman’s face. “We did it!” He reached down and grabbed the Pokeball, before raising it high up in the air. “We caught our first Pokemon!”

“And added a new teammate to the team!” Thomas exclaimed.

Roman threw the Pokeball, causing the Rattata to appear again through a streak of white light. It collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain.

“Oh!” Roman rushed to its side, spraying a Potion on its wounds. “I’m so sorry -- I do hope we didn’t hurt you too much. It was only to reduce the catch rate, I assure you--”

“Ah, so I’m supposed to excuse you because you only beat me up so I could be kidnapped from my family without fighting back?” The Rattata spat.

Roman recoiled. “Oh--! Oh, I -- I didn’t think--”  
“Yeah, I’m starting to get that,” the Rattata scowled. “You know, I came out here to _ask_ if I could join your team. Funny, now that I have no choice, I’m starting to second-guess my decision.”

“Wait, but what about your family?” Thomas asked.

The Rattata rolled its eyes. “I don’t got one. I was lyin’. But some of these other Pokemon  _ do _ , so do the world a favor and be a little less ‘tackle first, ask questions later,’ alright?”

Roman nodded slowly, wary about this Pokemon’s attitude. “Alright. Well, now that that’s out of the way, what shall we call you…?” He hummed in thought.

**_Roman glanced over at his twin, then back at the game._ **

“Remus,” he said decidedly.  **_The self-proclaimed rat man would probably love it._ **

The Rattata shrugged. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I don’t mind.”

“Nice to meet you, Remus!” Thomas said cheerfully.

“I’d say the same, but it was the exact opposite of nice, so I won’t,” Remus drawled.

**_“So, what did you name your rival?” Remus asked nonchalantly. Roman frowned and lowered his head._ **

**_“Virgil,” he admitted quietly._ **

**_Roman cackled so loudly he had to punch him to shut him up._ **

**_The ensuing fight lasted several minutes and they ended up being caught and reprimanded by Patton. The two creative sides muttered curses to one another as they picked up their respective games and sunk out to their rooms to play alone._ **

_ Thomas _

_ Cyndaquil, male, met at lv 5 in New Bark Town -> Hasty, Likes To Fight _

_ Remus _

_ Rattata, male, met at lv 4 in Route 29 -> Serious, Often Scatters Things _

_ Chapter 1 - Born To Be A Winner - END _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {There will be no other Pokemon named after Sanders Sides characters in this story. Looking back, it's kinda funny that I started out naming them that way in the beginning, because I never really had plans to do that. I figured Roman would consider Thomas to be his lifelong partner and thus Thomas was the best name for his starter Pokemon, and I still can't get over how Roman said "rat scoundrel b*tch" in the last episode, and so Remus = rat now. I spent so long trying to decide on a rival name before just picking Virgil, because one of my first two Sanders Sides ships was Prinxiety, and although I like pretty much each ship equally nowadays, Virgil just seemed to fit best for the rival's grumbly personality. (I love you, Virgil. But you can be a grump. And that's okay.)  
> Each of the chapters in Arc 1 is, in fact, titled after one of the Pokemon theme songs. Later on I'll figure out what trend I'll be doing for Arc 2 and Arc 3. I carefully chose each song because I felt they fit what was happening in that chapter best. It's not like you'd be able to guess what's going to happen from the song itself (I think), so I might start revealing those at the start of the chapters rather than the end.}
> 
> {Anyone who submits a piece of fanart to me for any of the nuzlockes will have their work posted along with the next chapter of the story, AND they will be allowed to promote themselves! What I mean by that is, I will put down whatever contact information you want along with that picture (be it an email address, a social media account that people can contact you and/or support you through, a website you put your art, etc.), as well as one unrelated art piece or charity that you would like to promote. It can be yours or someone else's, a picture or a video, or a link to somewhere people can donate either to you or to a cause.  
> I would say to keep it safe for work, and put warnings for overly graphic content or harsh language. Also, for every piece you create and submit, you will be able to promote either the same thing or something entirely different, so if you want to promote 10 different causes, feel free to go wild on the art!! It will make me happy in these sad times :3  
> Worst case scenario, I get nothing and these paragraphs were written for nothing, and that's okay too.  
> Please leave a comment when you submit something to me. You can put links to your work and promotion in the comments, or you can email them to me, BUT EVEN IF YOU EMAIL ME, make sure you leave a comment in case it gets sent to spam, so I know to look for it and I can reply to you if I don't get it! My email is Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.  
> The main reason I'm doing this is, admittedly, because I would love to see art for these stories and can't make anything decent on my own, and I'd like a way to motivate others to create in a way that helps them equally, despite not having the money to commission artists.}


	4. Chapter 2.1 - Route 46

_Chapter 2 - This Dream_

Roman was thankful for the map card the old geezer had given him the last day, because it meant he didn’t have to panic over where the path to Cherrygrove (or the way back home, for that matter) was. Instead, he could allow Thomas to run free through the dense forest. The poor little guy had so much energy built up inside of him -- he needed an outlet. And the more training he did, the more exp they got, and the closer they were to becoming a force to be reckoned with. Not that they were anywhere close to that point yet.

Roman didn’t have to worry about Thomas. _Remus_ , on the other hand…

“You know, you could get some training in, too,” Roman suggested. Thomas was just barely out of sight, but he could be heard tackling some Pidgey he’d run into.

“Nah, I’m not stupid,” Remus replied. “You’re almost out of Potions ‘cause Tommy over there doesn’t know when to quit. And if I go into battle the way I am now, I won’t make it out. Call him over to switch me out if you want me to train so badly.”

“Don’t _you_ want to train?” Roman retorted. “ _You_ wanted to join this team.”

“I don’t care about the process. I just want to survive.” Remus raised an eyebrow. “And if you don’t keep that walking fire hazard on a leash, he’s not going to live much longer.”

“Excuse me?!” Roman huffed. “Thomas can take care of himself just fine.”

“Look, you seem to have it in your head that everyone’s invincible. Well, I’ve _seen_ Pokemon die.” He grimaced. “More than I’d like to remember. And I’d rather not see it happen again over something so incredibly stupid. So do us both a favor, and call the fireball over here to protect us both. We can go back to New Bark Town, heal up, and then face whatever’s in this forest without taking risks we don’t need.”

Roman frowned. “We’ve been walking for an hour. You really want us to turn back?”

“Correction -- we’ve been walking _in circles_ for an hour. You’re way closer to home than you think.” Remus swatted his tail one direction. “Trust me, I know my way around these woods. Let’s head back, heal, and go back at it after.”

Roman clenched his teeth. “I can’t.”

Remus sighed. “And why is that?”

“Because I can’t go home so soon. They’ll… They’ll think I wasn’t able to handle it.”

Remus fixed him with a pointed look. “And you aren’t. Not yet.”

Deciding to ignore him, Roman made his way to where Thomas was sitting, dazed, in a pile of unconscious Rattata. He was covered in bruises and looked a bit disoriented, but he smiled up at Roman as he approached. “Hi Roman!” His head woozily moved around in a circle until he caught sight of the Rattata by his trainer’s side. “Remus, your kind sure are fast.”

Remus shook his head in disbelief. “I’m surrounded by incompetent fools.” He glared up at Roman. “Recall him. I’ll lead us back safely. Trust me on this one, kid.”

Roman glanced down at Thomas with a frown. He really wasn’t looking forward to heading back home, not so early, with Thomas like this… But…

Roman sighed and held out the Pokeball, letting Thomas vanish in the red streak of light that returned him to the ball. “Fine. Lead the way.”

Looking smug, the tiny Rattata scurried away, making Roman have to run to catch up with him as he led them out of harm’s way.

* * *

“You could’ve -- _huff_ \-- just walked -- _huff_ \-- you know.” Roman was leaning forward with his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. They were on the edge of town, where none of the few walking around had noticed them yet. Remus sat by one of the trees, licking his paw and using it to groom himself, without a trace of sweat on his body.

“Yes, but this is a team, is it not?” Remus gave him a knowing look. “And that means _you_ should be training as well. You can’t be out of shape for this journey.”

Roman begrudgingly nodded, unable to counter his reasoning, as much as he despised being forced to run.

“Roman? You’re back!”

Roman looked up and saw his mother running toward him. She glomped him and nearly sent him tumbling. “M-Mom, you don’t have to attack me. It’s been hardly more than an hour.”

“Did you change your mind?” she asked hopefully. “Are you and Cyndaquil staying?”

“I’m afraid not,” Roman said, chuckling. “We just came back for some quick healing. We got carried away and decided to train closer to home before heading to Cherrygrove, to strengthen up the team.”

Roman’s mom blinked down at the little Rattata. “The team? Is this another one of your Pokemon?”

“Yep. This is Remus.” Roman glared down at the rat, silently commanding it to play nice.

Remus rolled its eyes. “Howdy.”

“He’s really small,” she commented, kneeling down beside him. Remus flinched as she lifted her hand, but relaxed as she gently scratched behind his ear. “Have you been eating properly?”

Roman hadn’t even considered that; he simply thought Remus had a small body size. But the more he looked at him, the more he realized his mother was right; it wasn’t just that Remus was weak and grumpy -- he looked malnourished. He was almost surprised the little rodent could run so fast, although that was probably a species survival skill.

“What do you mean by ‘properly,’” Remus huffed. “Eating is eating. No point trying to make it fancy.”

“She means, are you eating enough,” Roman explained.

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Remus said, not seeming to understand. He quickly realized that was the wrong thing to say when Roman’s mother gasped and picked him up. He struggled against her grip but she held him firmly. “Whoa, whoa, woman, what are you doing?!”

“I’m going to feed you,” she replied. “No one should endanger themselves fighting on an empty stomach. Not if you’re going to protect my son, or each other.” Remus stopped struggling, but still gave her a wary look. She nodded toward Professor Elm’s lab. “Go heal up your Cyndaquil and come to the house when you’re done. I’ll fix lunch and snacks for all of you.”

“You can trust her,” Roman told his Rattata.

“I’m not sure I trust your judgement,” he retorted. Roman’s shoulders sagged.

“Yeah, I know.” He sighed. “I’m not being that good of a trainer, am I…? But I _will_ try harder. You can count on that. I’ll do my best to earn your trust.”

Remus stared at him for a long moment before nodding. Roman’s mother smiled proudly at her son before turning around and carrying the small rat back to her home.

Roman took out the Pokeball that held Thomas and smiled weakly at it. “Don’t worry, Thomas. I’ll get you healed right away, and then… Then we’re not only going to get stronger, but also _better_. One step at a time.”

* * *

Remus chomped down his bowl of bacon bits faster than it took Thomas to defeat a trio of level 2 Pidgey. Thomas seemed to think it was a food-eating competition and did his best to keep up.

“Okay, hold up, slow down,” Roman’s mother chided, picking up Remus and pulling him away from the nearly-empty bowl, making him hiss. “You’re going to make yourself sick and throw it all up again.”

“You too, Thomas,” Roman said. His Pokemon grumbled and backed away.

“Here.” Roman’s mother held out three plastic tubs to her son, full of banana bread, cookies, and leftover bacon. “This should last you until Violet City if you ration it properly. It’ll be good practice for you on your journey.” She put on a strict mom face. “Make sure they eat a healthy amount. Not too much, but don’t let them starve. You have a responsibility to take care of your Pokemon, you know. And that doesn’t just mean putting them in Nurse Joy’s hands whenever they’re too bruised up to fight.”

“I know, mom. I’m not inhumane.”

“I never said you were,” she whispered, before leaning in for a hug, placing a kiss on his forehead. “You’re far from it. But you’re responsible for _lives_ now. And that means making sure they have everything they need, all the time. Just like your mother tries to do for you.” She smiled. “I know you can do it. You’ll go far, and you’ll do great things, I’m sure. If you ever need any help, or advice, just give mom a call, alright?”

“Alright, mom.” Roman turned to his two Pokemon. Thomas was smiling up at him with a thrill-seeking glow in his eyes, and Remus was looking at him with a sort of scowl. Roman wondered how he was going to prove to him that he was more than capable of holding a team together.

He sucked in a deep breath. This was what training was for, he supposed. If Remus wanted to see results, then Roman was going to turn him into the strongest Rattata around.

* * *

Remus was _not_ the strongest Rattata around.

In fact, Roman was convinced he was weaker than some of the wild Pokemon they were training against. Every time Remus took a hit, Thomas had to jump in and tackle the opponent.

Roman had to give him some credit for _trying_ , though. Remus would struggle to his feet after every blow, never doing the easy thing and stepping down. Roman still never dared let him face an opponent on his own -- not yet. After seeing Remus cough up blood from a blow to the face, Roman nearly fainted himself. A quick trip back to Elm’s got him back in shape, but Elm gave him an odd look for returning multiple times to heal his Pokemon in the same day, and Roman wanted to just move on to Cherrygrove and be done with it.

And that’s almost what he did, before he noticed another route on the map just a little ways off the path they were following. When he told Thomas and Remus that they might find another teammate there, Thomas jumped with joy, and Remus spouted off some sarcastic comment about how _well_ Roman was faring with just _two_ Pokemon to look out for. Roman had gotten good at ignoring his attitude.

Roman passed through a small doorless building to get from route 29 to route 46. It was meant to be a resting spot for weary trainers to get out of any bad weather, relax with some hot chocolate, and share traveling stories. Roman appreciated its existence, but he didn’t really need any of those things, so he passed through without taking a break.

The new route was a bit smaller and enclosed than the others. There was a tall ledge up ahead preventing him from moving forward past the grass patch, and on either side of him there were thick trees pushed so close together that he could hardly see a foot beyond the trunk. The trees were allowing little to no sunlight in from above, making it completely dark inside anyway.

“Alright, keep your eyes peeled for a new team member!” Roman said excitedly, wondering at the possibilities. A Pidgey would be nice. Or a Spearow, or a Hoothoot (even though he knew they slept during the day). But a flying type wasn’t necessary -- a bug could be cool too, though he wasn’t sure if there were any Pinsir around here. Adding an electric or water type to the team would also be useful… Or even a Geodude! Rock-types would be so useful against the flying gym.

As he was basking in the opportunities, Remus snickered loudly, grabbing his attention. “What is it?” Roman asked, turning to look in the same direction. His mood instantly deflated.

Another Rattata was racing up to them, with no signs of slowing down. It slammed its head into Roman’s knee, making him yelp out as he fell to the ground on top of the rat.

“I’m guessing you didn’t want that one, huh?” Remus said, amused. Roman just growled and tossed a Pokeball -- rules were rules, and if he was going to have two Rattata, so be it. The more the merrier, he supposed.

The Pokeball clicked on the third turn. He hadn’t needed to cut down its HP -- it was at a low enough level that it wasn’t necessary, and it probably would have been killed with a single hit. Roman sighed and tossed the ball, letting the rat pop out in a dazzle of light, plopping down bum-first onto the grass.

“Welcome to the team,” Roman said, forcing politeness into his voice. The Rattata barely seemed to hear him. It didn’t seem wary in the slightest, instead single-mindedly pitter-pattering around his feet and sniffing up the back of his leg. “... What are you doing?”

“She wants your food,” Remus replied, glaring at the other rat of his kind.

“She?”

“We can tell,” he said shortly. He swatted the Rattata with his tail, making her flop backwards. She quickly got back to her feet and shook herself off.

“... Ratasha,” Roman stated. He leaned down and took off his backpack. Ratasha crawled toward him curiously, sniffing at the air. Remus inched forward as well. Roman picked out two pieces of bacon and split it between the two.

Thomas nudged his arm hopefully, wanting a piece of his own. Roman sighed and shook his head, making his starter pull away dejectedly. “Hey, we’re heading to the Pokemon Center. You can all eat as much as you want then.” He closed the container and zipped it back inside his bag. “We have to conserve this food. Okay?”

“Someone’s thinking smart for once,” Remus mused, turning and heading back toward route 29.

“Wait for me!” Thomas cried, running to catch up with him.

Roman rolled his eyes and looked down at his new party member, Ratasha, who had finished nibbling on the slice of bacon and was now sniffing at his shoes. “... You can speak, right?” he asked. Ratasha merely cocked her head at him, nose twitching. Roman shook his head. _‘Great. A Pokemon who can’t even understand me. This is bound to go well.’_

He carefully stepped around her and walked after his other Pokemon back to route 29, Ratasha scampering after him in curiosity rather than loyalty. Roman decided to look on the bright side -- early trials just meant he would learn more, faster. And that experience was what he needed to become the best Pokemon trainer in the world.

Deep down, he knew he was destined for more. He would train this group of underdogs (or, _underrats_ , to be more precise) into the big leagues. He’d see his name in shining gold lights, and go to parades all across the world in celebration of his team.

He allowed his dream to envelop his mind once more, like a soft blanket wrapping around a sleeping child, as he led his team out of the dark woods and into a new tomorrow.

_Ratasha_

_Rattata, female, met at lv 2 in Route 46 - > Rash, Often Scatters Things _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Our team has been infested with rats... But one of them is adorable, and the other is funny (to me, at least), so I guess we're alright. I was really hoping for a Geodude, but fate blessed me with this puny level 2 Rattata, so I decided to roll with it. We'll see how much I regret not establishing the duplicate clause later on.  
> At this point in the game, Cyndaquil (Thomas) is way overleveled, Ratasha is way underleveled, and Remus isn't strong enough to be a reliable middle man, so we'll see how that goes.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted around Sunday! Twice a week seems like a nice working update schedule for now. However, that means this story will take much longer to write than I'd hoped, so you can't expect Remus's Nuzlocke until around the holiday season, which is... very much not ideal. XD But this is what we're working with. This series and the college AU are going to be my longest and most massive projects after Awesome... Wow (Sanders Sides Perform Hamilton) and the Spooktober month event (which I am woefully unprepared for), so I hope you enjoy them.
> 
> PLEASE COMMENT. I'M LONELY AND WISH TO DISCUSS THIS PASSION PROJECT.
> 
> Two announcements! Well, one is a reminder. The reminder -- please consider submitting fanart, if for nothing but to make me smile. I'm not sure how notes work because it looks like it was posted twice in the last chapter, so check the details there so you can see what you get for submitting art. (You could also pressure your artistic friends into drawing art... I would also appreciate that very much. >>)  
> Secondly, I'm looking for a beta reader for this work! The beta reader must be available at least two days a week (roughly 1 hour a day to read and provide a well-thought-out review, though it's likely it won't even take you that long). Dark themes may apply -- I'm not quite sure how detailed I'll go, but there are character injuries and death and grief at the very least, so you must be willing to read such material.  
> While I would like the beta reader to check for grammatical mistakes, that is NOT the priority. I would much rather the reader go through and search for problems in the story structure, see whether some lines don't sound right, pester me to add more/better description, suggest better word choice (but don't expect me to always take every suggestion), and generally let me know how it made you feel. Were some parts lacking, too slow, or too quick-paced? Did anything feel disconnected? Did some dialogue feel funky or did this seem unrealistic? That's what I'm looking for.  
> Your benefits? You get to read chapters early, you get editing experience, you can pick out and send me an emote to add to the discord, and maybe you'll get other perks once I've brainstormed some more ideas. I can't exactly pay you, but I can give you credit in each chapter as well, unless you wish to stay anonymous. Please consider helping me out!}


	5. Chapter 2.2 - Route 30

Back at Cherrygrove City, Roman relaxed on a cozy sofa with his legs spread out and crossed over one another. Ratasha laid across his stomach, nibbling on a cookie she’d been given by one of the other trainers who thought she was adorable.

Roman didn’t think she was adorable, but then again, his perspective was far different from the picnicker who owned two Rattata of her own that she carried around in her purse. The thought of putting Ratasha in his bag made him sick -- he’d seen her lick one gross thing too many, and her paws were full of dirt. At least  _ Remus  _ groomed himself.

Speaking of Remus, he was sitting on the floor by the foot of the couch, curled up in a ball and watching some tv program advertising a new line of specialized Pokeballs. Thomas was at his side -- something Remus didn’t look too happy about -- cheerfully yapping away about his favorite memories at the lab.

“-- and then Totodile, he hid behind the bookcase--”

“Which should have been obvious, since he’s bright blue and you would’ve seen him anywhere else.”

“Nuh-uh! Anyway, he pounced at me, but I did a dodge roll off to the side, and that’s when Chikorita tried to get the jump on me, but Chikorita was too slow, and all I had to do was flare the flames on my back and he went running. But then Elm told me I wasn’t allowed to use fire yet because I’m not experienced enough to handle it. Plus we were in the lab, so I got put in time-out. But Totodile made a distraction so I was able to sneak away with half the professor’s bologna sandwich!”

“Good for you,” Remus drawled.

“It  _ was  _ good for me!” Thomas said triumphantly.

_ ‘Probably not,’ _ Roman thought to himself. Bologna had a lot of sodium...

“Now I have a question for you.” Remus’s eyes narrowed. What are you going to do when Totodile comes after us next?”

“... What?” Thomas’s eyes were wide and innocent.

“The last time you fought? That wasn’t a game, kid.” Remus stretched his body out like a cat. “His owner’s a piece of human garbage. That’s going to have an effect on him.” Remus gave him a piercing look. “Will you be ready to take him out if you need to?”

“Take him -- wha--? Totodile is my friend!”

“And we’re your team,” Remus retorted. “If he doesn’t hold back next time, he’s going to start using water type moves. Any amount of hesitation on your part, and all three of us are goners.”

“Hey, Remus, don’t talk like that,” Roman spoke up. “We don’t need pessimism here.”

“It’s not pessimism -- it’s realism,” he countered. “Either you need to be ready to do what you hafta do, or the rest of us need to be stronger than you. Which doesn’t seem to be Roman’s priority, apparently, seeing as how we’ve spent the last three hours lazing about in an air conditioned room.”

Roman held back an annoyed groan. He hated it when Remus was right. They needed to head out soon and train -- he knew that. But a nap was starting to sound really good right now…

“Everyone deserves a chance to rest!” Thomas stated, speaking his mind.

“And we  _ did  _ rest. But resting too much can make you weak. I joined this team so I could get  _ stronger _ , not so I could waste my time sleeping.”

“Fine, fine, we’ll go,” Roman sighed. “If we want to beat Virgil the next time we go toe-to-toe -- which I’m sure he’s preparing for right now -- we’d better get going.” He picked Ratasha up by the scruff of her neck and placed her down on the floor, then started wiping off cookie crumbs from his shirt. She scrounged the floor for fallen crumbs, and anything else she could find, before they left the Pokemon Center.

* * *

Leaving Cherrygrove City felt harder than leaving home, for some reason. Roman assumed it was due, in part, to his childhood memories of this city. Now that he was older and could see the city for what it truly was, though, he knew it wasn’t anything special. Moving onward, achieving his dream --  _ that  _ would bring him closer to that feeling he had as a child.

And yet, he found himself staring at the sea, at the buildings, at the small shore where waves lapped against it and children ran around making sandcastles and eating ice cream -- and he was tempted to put his foot down and make them wait another day.

But if he let himself submit to the desire for peace, he would never become the Champion. He knew it, and so did Remus, the little rat who kept eyeing him carefully, still doubtful of him and what he wanted to be.

Roman turned his back on the city and waved his Pokemon onward. “Come on -- let us venture into route 30!” he exclaimed, his voice free of any doubt. Thomas charged on ahead, but waited for him rather than continuing nonstop. Remus and Ratasha moved at their own pace, Remus cautiously, Ratasha the exact opposite. Roman wasn’t sure how she had survived on her own, with how rashly she moved. On their way to Cherrygrove earlier, she’d ran straight at a wild Pidgey, recklessly putting her life in danger because she wanted to chew on its wings. Since then, he’d tried to keep a close eye on her, but it was hard to contain such a small and agile creature.

As they took their first steps into the route, Thomas gasped. “Oh, wait! We haven’t caught anything here! We can have a new team member!”

“An astute observation,” Remus said sarcastically. Roman fumbled around in his bag for Pokeballs, realizing he only had 3. Hopefully it wouldn’t be tough to catch whichever Pokemon they came across first.

The grass up ahead began to rustle. Thomas stood in attack formation. Ratasha merely eyed the movement with curiosity. Remus stood in her way, giving her a glare when she made a move to run up ahead and see what was going on.

“Please don’t be a Rattata, please don’t be a Rattata, please don’t be a Rattata,” Roman whispered, crossing his fingers.

The grass stilled for a moment, and they wondered if the Pokemon was going to come out. Then, a large black eye became visible through the blades. It stared at Thomas for a few long seconds, and then it vanished. The grass began to rustle again, although Roman could tell it was moving in the opposite direction.

“Thomas, find it!” Roman exclaimed, pointing his Pokemon onward. “Don’t let it get away!”

“Got it!” Thomas pounced into the tall grass, causing the rustling sound to double in volume. It didn’t take long for a Pokemon to come rolling out of the grass toward them, curled up in a ball. It was a green little bug with large black eyes.

“It’s a Caterpie!” Roman said, smiling. Anything was better than another Rattata.

He threw a Pokeball and the bug Pokemon was enveloped in the light before it could even bother to uncurl itself. The Pokeball shook around in one direction. Then the other. Then it shook a third time. And then…

**_Click._ **

Roman bent over to pick up the Pokeball from the ground, grinning in excitement. “Yes!”

Thomas returned through the grass, beaming up at his trainer. “Let him out! I wanna meet him!”

“I’m sure he’ll be oh-so-happy to see you,” Remus muttered.

* * *

“Absolem!” Roman declared, naming his new teammate. The Caterpie nodded slowly, its eyes droopy and tired. “It fits perfectly!” he exclaimed proudly, thinking of  _ Alice in Wonderland _ .

“Welcome to the team, Absolem!” Thomas said warmly.

“Cool. So… Why am I here?” the Caterpie asked.

Roman picked him up and held him in the air, Simba-style. “You are here, my friend, to help our team make its way into the Elite Four to win the championship!”

Absolem blinked. “Oh.” His voice went flat.

“Just ‘oh?’” Remus said, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yeah. I was hoping this wouldn’t mean a lot of walking. I get tired easily.”

Roman frowned, but then he perked right back up. “Well, that’s what training is for!” Remus rolled his eyes as Roman went on another excitable rant. “We’re going to whip all of you into tip-top shape, and then we’re going straight to Violet City to conquer the flying type gym!”

“Wonderful,” Absolem murmured, already beginning to drift off in Roman’s arms, his head flopping over to lay on the human’s wrist. Roman gave him a shake.

“Nope! No sleeping now, mister! You’re up first.” Roman walked into the tall grass and spotted a Pidgey spying on a Metapod. “Here you go.”

Absolem took one look at the Pidgey and began to sweat. “... Actually, Mr. Roman, I don’t feel so good. How about the Cyndaquil going first?”

“Nope. Go get ‘em, tiger!” Roman tossed him at the Pidgey, who hadn’t been looking. They both went flying off toward a tree, screaming and squawking.

“A+ training,” Remus scoffed, looking mildly concerned toward the new party member.

“I’ll watch over him,” Thomas promised, running off to help out in case things got hairy.

Roman looked down at Ratasha, who was rolling around in the grass carelessly, and Remus, who was observing the other Pokemon from afar. He must’ve sensed Roman’s eyes on him, because he looked up. Their eyes met, and Remus stilled. “No.”

“Yep!” Remus tried to scamper away, but Roman picked him up before he could get far. “You and me, buddy. You want to get stronger, now’s the time.”

“Don’t toss me in there without the smoke ball over there to back me up,” Remus complained.

“Oh, shut it, you can handle a Metapod.” Roman placed the rat down in front of a Metapod that was leaning against a tree and watching them warily.

“It’ll take a thousand years,” Remus lamented.

“Then a thousand years we’ll wait!” Remus groaned and began charging at the shell-enclosed creature, who merely hardened and waited for Remus to tire out.

Roman glanced down at Ratasha, who was still rolling around playfully. He sighed. “You’re going to be difficult, aren’t you?” She didn’t respond, happily invested in what she was doing. “Well, I suppose you’re not an underdog if you don’t have a long way to go…” Roman opened up his bag and started applying sunscreen. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

It certainly was.

Absolem was getting a few good levels in, but Roman couldn’t even get Ratasha to focus enough to take on a Pokemon herself. Remus, on the other hand, scared Roman half to death whenever he went face-to-face with an opponent that wasn’t a harmless Metapod.

The first scare happened when he was up against a Pidgey. A  _ level 2 _ Pidgey, for goodness sakes. They had just been back to the Pokemon Center for healing and Remus was nearly at full health, having just taken down a lower-leveled Rattata. He was standing in the middle of the open path just a few meters ahead of Roman, slinking toward a Pidgey who had stopped in the middle of the road to peck at some worms.

“You ready, Remus?” Roman asked in a low voice. Remus nodded. Pidgey lowered its beak to the ground, and Roman muttered, “Now.”

Remus charged forward with lightning speed, slamming into the Pidgey before it had time to turn around. Its tiny feathers weren’t strong enough for it to attempt to fly away, so it did the next best thing and dug its sharp claws into Remus’s stomach during the brief moment their bodies were connected. They tore open a gash that extended halfway down his belly. From a distance, Roman couldn’t see just what had happened, but there was no mistaking the shower of blood that drenched the soil as Remus’s body collapsed to the ground.

**_Remus - 1 HP_ **

Roman was moving toward him on auto-pilot, utter dread making his throat close up. He heard himself screaming for Thomas as he dove over Remus’s body, protecting him from the Pidgey who could have finished him off in an instant.

“Thomas!” he cried again, hearing his starter’s light footsteps pounding toward him from behind. Ratasha’s small head poked under his arm, sniffing at Remus’s blood coating the ground. Her paw stepped in the small puddle that was beginning to form.

Thomas slammed into the Pidgey at once, knocking it unconscious and taking out the immediate danger. Roman sucked in a deep breath and looked down at Remus. His small body was shaking violently, lurching like he was about to throw up his insides. His eyes were wide and panicked and his breaths were ragged. The amount of blood made Roman feel sick.

“Rem?” Thomas whispered, inching closer with terrified eyes. Ratasha put her nose in the growing pile of blood and stuck out her tongue. Roman shuddered, and was suddenly brought back to his senses. He had to get Remus to safety. He had to.

Roman grabbed one of his clean shirts from inside his bag and pressed it up against the wound. He tried slipping the rat into his arms, but drew back when the poor thing whimpered. Roman exchanged a worried glance with Thomas. “Remus. I -- I have to pick you up.”

“I’d rather die,” he mumbled.

“Never,” Thomas snapped, before Roman could even process what he’d heard. Thomas somehow managed to lift Remus up from the ground with his tiny arms, ignoring his cry, and placed him in Roman’s arms. “Go.”

Roman nodded, shot to his feet, began sprinting off. He heard Ratasha scurrying along after him, and trusted that Thomas would bring Absolem. He couldn’t afford to worry about anyone else except Remus right then.

* * *

**_“Aww, you were worried about me?” Remus joked._ **

**_“Not_ ** **you** **_, your stupidly weak Pokemon,” Roman grumbled._ **

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice exhausted. Remus was sitting in place by the Pokemon Center wall with a red handkerchief around his neck, glaring at Roman, but refusing to say a word. He’d been patched up and was at full health, but Roman was still wary.

He couldn’t get that response out of his head.  _ ‘I’d rather die,’ _ Remus had said. Just how bad of a trainer was he? No -- no, it couldn’t have been his fault! Remus was just being stuck-up… Roman shouldn’t feel guilty. It was just an attitude problem. Remus needed to get his head out of his ass and sort out his priorities.

“Come on, he’s just worried about you,” Thomas said, nudging the rat on the shoulder, carefully avoiding his wound. Remus just grumbled in response.

“Well, the nurse said you’re free to go…” Roman sighed. “But, I’m not okay with you doing much training just yet. So we’ll let Absolem get some levels instead.”

“Lovely,” Absolem murmured, glancing over at the bandages on Remus’s stomach.

“Maybe we should go back to the other route?” Thomas suggested worriedly. “We can still train there.”

“The levels are practically the same, and I haven’t seen any Metapod over there,” Roman argued. “We’ll train one at a time now, with Thomas on stand-by. Everyone agree?”

“Agreed,” Absolem said.

“Ratasha?” Roman asked, feeling like an idiot as soon as he did. The rat didn’t even know her name, and she was too busy trying to sniff at Remus’s bandages, despite him aggressively whipping her with his tail every time she came too close.

Roman sighed, and tried again. “Remus?” His Rattata refused to answer him.

Roman shook his head wearily. “Alright, I’ll take that as complacency. We’re moving out.”

* * *

_ Red-headed monster, towering… Scowling down, eyes as unflinching as steel… _

**_SLAM_ ** _. Coursing pain through my spine,  _ **_slam_ ** _ as I hit wood. I hear the murmurs in the brush but no one comes. One rat’s suffering protects the pack. I know this, I know, but in the moment all I want is a reprieve. _

_ “Stupid rat. Were you following me?” he hisses. I’d tell him that the whole d*mn pack is following him, that’s what happens when you carry pork through the woods like it’s no big deal, like you’re not attracting every starving carnivore these trees and bushes hide. _

**_SLAM_ ** _. Something’s broken, has to be broke, I can’t breathe, I can’t-- _

_ No, not broke, his foot is on my neck, he’s looking down, down, he’s going to kill, he’s going to-- _

_ “Your kind is pathetic,” he snaps. I wouldn’t disagree if I could. _

_ Suddenly I can breathe, but I don’t realize it until his footsteps are already going away. I try to move and pain, pain,  _ **_PAIN_ ** _ \-- _

_ “Shhhh.” I don’t even realize I’ve been making sounds until one of the elder rats is standing over me, giving me the worst attempt at a smile than -- ow, ow, ow -- _

_ “You took one for the team,” another said, a younger one, with no idea of true pain. She grinned down at me like this was some award, like I wasn’t still trying to make my lungs work. _

_ “It’s not fair,” the elder rat murmured, nuzzling my head gently. “That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?” I didn’t answer, because I already knew what her response would be. “But that’s just the laws of the world. The strong survive. The weak…” _

_ “I don’t need to hear it from you,” I forced out in a low voice, as soon as I could manage a steady breath. “I know.” _

_ She gave me a knowing look. “Then why did you let him catch you?” _

* * *

“Absolem, give ‘em another Tackle!” Roman shouted. Remus blinked away the memory and focused on the bug Pokemon as it bashed itself against the weakening Metapod. Thinking about the Metapod as another Pokemon, rather than an enemy, made him feel rather sick to his stomach -- because, truthfully, he wasn’t much different. He was weak, and nearly defenseless, and almost anything could knock him out.

If a lv 2 Pidgey could take him out -- one of the weakest possible opponents he could face -- then what chance did he have of making it out of this alive?

“Hey, you!”

“Hm?” Roman turned his head. Up the pathway to the left, the direction that led to Violet City, stood a confident-looking boy with red hair and a white-and-red striped shirt. The boy came running up to Roman, a hand itching toward the Pokeball on his belt.

“You’ve got Pokemon! Let’s have a battle!”

Roman paused, hesitant to send any of his Pokemon out against another trainer in their low levels.  _ ‘But if I send out Thomas, he’ll be  _ too  _ overleveled…’ _ He chewed his nail as he thought about the question.

… Or, what he  _ thought  _ was a question. The other boy had sent out his Rattata before Roman could even respond. “You’re a trainer; you don’t got a choice!”

“Is there a rule about that?” Roman asked, confused.

“Uhhh…” Thomas frowned. “We really should have read up on trainer regulations, huh?”

“I’ll do it,” Remus spoke up, moving forward to stand in front of Roman, mirroring the other Rattata’s stance.

“What?” Roman looked flabbergasted. “You’re in no condition to fight!”

“Well, I’m gonna prove you wrong,” Remus snapped.  _ ‘And her. I’m not going to stay one of the weak. They’re not catching me.’ _

“Remus, you -- you don’t have to prove anything!”

“Rattata, use Tackle!” The trainer announced. Roman began to panic, but Thomas stood on his hind two legs and tugged at Roman’s pant leg.

“He’ll be fine,” Thomas told him. “A trainer believes in their Pokemon.”

Roman crossed his arms, inhaling deeply. He knew that; he really did. But… but was this really the right choice…?”

Before he could utter a command, Remus dodged the Rattata’s attack and leapt into him from the side with all the force his body could muster. The creature was critically hit, struggling to get back to its feet for its next move.

But Remus was faster, and with another quick rush attack, the opponent had fainted.

“See?” Thomas said, smiling up at his trainer. “Rem just needs you to believe in him.”

Roman frowned thoughtfully as he watched the trainer recall his Pokemon and run off crying. Another trainer who had been watching from the shadows -- another young boy with jean shorts and a plain white shirt -- stepped out, gripping his own set of balls. Remus made no move to leave the field; he was determined to face this opponent by himself.

“No. That’s not it,” Roman replied, his voice distant. Thomas opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by his trainer. “Remus needs a reason. Something to prove.” Roman’s voice became more confident as he reflected on the personality of his first catch. “That’s what motivates him -- that’s why he’s so focused right now, why he took out that Pokemon without a problem.” Roman paused to focus on the match, then smiled. “He’s slightly different from you and I, but… perhaps that’s not terrible.” Watching Remus take out the opponent’s first Rattata without a hitch made that belief more firm in his mind.

And then the opponent’s second Rattata was sent out. Remus was faster and he managed to land a strong blow by body slamming into the other rat. But the enemy Rattata landed gracefully on the ground, shot forward with adrenaline speeding up his actions, and barrelled into Remus’s stomach. Roman saw part of the bandage tear and felt an instant dread.

**_“How dare Remus give me a scare like that --_ ** **twice** **_,” Roman grumbled, as Remus’s health dropped down to ⅓ of his full health. Remus merely laughed, enjoying the idea of his namesake making trouble for his twin, even without any of his involvement._ **

“Alright, Thomas, head in there,” he commanded.

“No. Give him a chance,” Thomas replied. Roman had no idea why his starter was acting this way, but he reached in his back and realized he still had a Potion left. He ran forward toward Remus and sprayed the Potion on his wounds, lessening the physical ache he’d received from the attack. Remus was back on his feet before Roman was.

“Rattata, use Tackle!”

“Remus, counter-Tackle!” Roman shouted. To his relief (and, admittedly, shock), Remus obliged, launching himself forward a second after the enemy Rattata, and knocking into him mid-air. Remus’s strength and speed overpowered the enemy Rattata and knocked him unconscious.

“How could you?!” the other boy cried. “I was supposed to win!”

“Clearly you were not,” Roman replied, more focused on Remus, who was wavering where he stood. Roman knelt down beside him, shaking his head in amusement. “Remus, you didn’t have to take them on all on your own. We’re a team.”

“A weak one,” Remus countered. “Pokemon don’t grow unless we’re put in situations meant to  _ challenge  _ us. I’m not staying weak like this.” He glared. “No matter what you do.”

Roman couldn’t help but smile. Ever since he met Remus, he’d doubted his motivation, his abilities, everything. But now, he was fairly certain Remus had the same spark in him as Thomas and himself -- the one that could only mean success! Hope sprung up in his chest, and he relished in it like a lost man in a desert finding an oasis.

He put a hand on Remus’s head and rubbed it, despite Remus’s threatening growl. “Alright, tiger. Let’s get back to the Center for healing, and then we’ll get right back to it. All of us.”

Remus hesitantly nodded, as if he was skeptical to agree to  _ anything  _ Roman said. But he kept pace with the team as they went back to Cherrygrove City for one of their last visits before moving on to the next area.

Glancing around at his team, Roman knew they were all just a bunch of unskilled misfits, but strangely enough, he felt more at peace with that than before. If he could find that one thing each of his Pokemon needed, to push them to the next level where they could shine just as brightly as he one day longed to…

… Well, they could do anything.

_ Absolem _

_ Caterpie, male, met at lv 3 in Route 30 -> Relaxed, Often Dozes Off _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Remus really caused me a lot of problems early on. He was just so weak compared to everyone else, and whenever I tried to level him up, I'd be frightened that a single hit could kill him -- even when he was higher leveled than his opponent. (Yes, he really did survive on 1 HP. It was terrifying.) But I was leaning too hard on Thomas as my starter so I still took some time to try and level him up, even though I didn't think I was going to use him. Ratasha had the same problem; in fact, I'm pretty sure she only leveled up to 3 on this route -- that's how little I used her. Absolem, on the other hand, was a great addition to the team because I love the Caterpie line and Butterfree has always been a useful Pokemon in my party in other playthroughs. I think a calmer, more go-with-the-flow teammate is needed to balance out the energies of Roman, Thomas, and Ratasha.  
> Next time, we continue our journey to Violet City! I wonder if we'll meet another friend along the way...?}


	6. Chapter 2.3 - Dark Cave and Route 31

Training that day left Roman sweaty and feeling like he needed a shower -- and he wasn’t even the one running around slamming his body into other creatures until they passed out! But once it came to be sunset and his team was tuckered out, he healed them all at the Pokemon Center, purchased a few sandwiches from the “trainer grab ‘n go” section, and decided to take his team out to the Cherrygrove beach for some much-needed relaxation.

Thomas wasn’t exactly a fan of the waves, considering… well, considering it was out of his element. So while Ratasha went splashing around in the waves, sometimes disappearing under the water and making Roman go into panic mode, everyone else took a relaxed approach to their evening off. Remus ate more than his fair share of the sandwiches, and then curled up with an eye trained on the younger Rattata. Absolem was fast asleep on the other side of the beach towel that Thomas was laying on, basking in the sunlight before the warmth faded into the night.

Roman had changed into his red and white trunks and was splashing around in the waves as well, a pair of blue goggles over his eyes. He dunked his head under the water once he was past the crashing of the waves and tried to get a good look at the creatures in the sea. There weren’t many close by -- which made sense, considering the vast expanse of the ocean -- but he could see a few Magikarp swimming relatively close, as well as a Goldeen in the distance. Roman wondered if he would be able to catch one of them. Goldeen were breathtaking, but Magikarp did have greater potential in the long run. At least, in his opinion -- he remembered being told Gyarados were too risky due to their 4x weakness to electricity, but the truth of the matter was, Gyarados was a far more rewarding Pokemon to obtain.

He felt something claw at his foot and instantly drew his limbs upward, glancing down beneath the waters at whatever it could have been that poked him. He saw something red sticking out under the sand and wondered what it could be. Roman swam down without a second thought, curiosity getting the better of him, and he started brushing the sand to the side to reveal more of the red.

When the sand below him began to shake and break apart as an angry eye glared up at him from beneath the particles, he realized exactly what it was.

‘Sorry, Mr. Krabby,’ he thought as he started swimming the other way, hoping it wasn’t following him. He risked a look back and saw the Krabby had fully uncovered itself and was still giving him a dark look, so he quickened his swimming until he was caught in the tide leading back to the sand. He allowed it to push him forward, until he was right at the edge of the crashing beach where Ratasha was trying to shake the water off of her -- it seemed she had some seawater in her eyes, because of how they were scrunched shut.

“Come on, Ratasha, we’re going,” Roman said, picking her up by the tail. She let out a meek grunt but didn’t struggle as he carried her back toward his beach chair.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “You done already?”

“I think I agitated a Krabby,” Roman responded, dropping Ratasha beside the other rat, causing the sand to shoot up and stick to his leg. Roman tilted his head and began tapping at the side, trying to get the water out of his ears.

“Why am I not surprised.”

“Why _aren’t_ you surprised?” Roman countered.  
Remus shrugged. “You’re good at agitating people.” Before Roman could open his mouth to argue, Remus gestured toward the waters. “Is that the Krabby?”

Roman turned and noticed the angry Krabby was standing sideways by the shore, side-eyeing Roman and pinching its claws shut.

“Yep.” Roman folded up the chair and grabbed the beach towel, pulling it up and forcing Absolem and Thomas off of it. “Time to go!”

Remus stood up, shaking the sand off himself as best as he could. “Do these Pokemon Centers have showers? As much as I hate being wet, this sand is even worse.”

“Don’t think about that right now!” Roman shrugged his bag onto his back, picked Ratasha up under his left arm, and started running as soon as the Krabby let out a battle cry. “Let’s go!”

* * *

Roman sighed as he leaned back against his little cot in the Pokemon Center, his hair freshly wet from a nice warm shower. The Center lights were off, save for some non-distracting blue lights near the front desk, the entrance, and the bathroom, so trainers could find their way around. Light snores could be heard all around, even from his own Pokemon, but he found it a tad difficult to get to sleep, despite his exhaustion.

Now that the night had come and he had some downtime to really think about his situation, he felt slightly disheartened. Absolem had nearly fallen asleep in battle earlier, more than once. The Caterpie wasn’t exactly narcoleptic, but he was surprisingly drowsy 24/7 -- or, at least, for all the hours Roman had known him thus far. Ratasha was a bit more worrying than Absolem, though; as much as Absolem fell asleep, he wasn’t that difficult to control during battle, and he followed Roman’s commands without question. Perhaps it wasn’t with the energy and enthusiasm of Thomas, but Absolem certainly was compliant. Ratasha, on the other hand, rarely paid any attention to him. It probably wasn’t her own fault -- she must have had some sort of learning defect that Roman would have to find a way to work around. But it still led to her being hit hard, and Roman was still positive that a single hit from the wrong Pokemon would end her life.

Yet neither of those two were quite as large on his mind as Remus, because both Absolem and Ratasha, as difficult as they could be, both generally respected him as a trainer, or as a parental figure, in Ratasha’s case. Remus, however, couldn’t seem to trust him as far as he could throw him. (Which, Roman realized, meant little because a Rattata couldn’t possibly throw a human -- but, regardless, Remus didn’t trust him.) And that was a severe problem for a trainer, because he didn’t feel like he had any real control.

Not only that, but Remus had nearly died…  _ twice _ . In the first day of training, as well. Roman wasn’t sure what he could have done to prevent it from getting that close, but that was what kept him up, wondering if there was something he could’ve done to prevent those injuries, if next time he wouldn’t be so lucky. As irritating as Remus could be, Roman didn’t know what he’d do if he died under his watch.

A small movement beside him brought him back to reality. Thomas curled up next to him, smiling warmly. “It’s going to be okay,” his starter promised. Roman wondered where all this belief came from. “There’s a reason the Gym Challenge is called a ‘challenge.’ But you and me, we have the determination to make it through.”

Roman smiled fondly and patted his starter’s head. “Yeah. We’ll be okay.”

“Now stop looking like you don’t believe that,” Thomas said firmly. Roman laughed.

“Alright, alright. When did  _ you  _ become the trainer?”

“When you started needing help.” Thomas snuggled closer. “We’re a partnership. Don’t forget that. You helped me; I’ll always be here when you need help, trainer.”

“Same to you, my furry friend.” Roman leaned back and stretched himself out before moving into a more comfortable position.

Tomorrow would be another tough day. He needed all the sleep he could get.

* * *

“Absolem, use Tackle!” Roman shouted overzealously.

“That’s all he knows -- I don’t think you have to tell him anymore,” Remus mumbled from where he sat with Thomas and Ratasha, eating cheese and crackers. Absolem attacked the enemy bug trainer’s Metapod.

“Metapod, use Harden!” the trainer cried, looking dejected as he realized just how useless this battle was.

“Once he’s done, hit him with another Tackle!”

“Harden again!” the bug trainer said, while the Metapod looked at him in stress.

“Tackle!”

“If this is how boring battles are going to be -- hey, that’s mine!” Remus slapped Ratasha in the face, making her whine and drop the cracker she’d stolen from his small pile. “You ate your own! You’re done!”

“Here, you can have some of mine!” Thomas offered. Ratasha perked up immediately and circled him, rubbing up against his side like a cat.

Remus gave him an unimpressed look. “You don’t have to spoil her.”

“Who said anything about spoiling anyone? I’m just being nice and sharing with my teammate,” Thomas responded.

“Don’t give me that ‘sharing is caring’ bullcrap,” Remus huffed, looking away. “Look after yourself first, kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” Thomas said stubbornly. “And I’m fine! I do this because I  _ want  _ to, not because I think I  _ have  _ to. Doesn’t your kind know the meaning of  _ friendship _ ?”

“We know the meaning of lots of things. Doesn’t mean they’re worth a dime when it comes to life or death situations -- which is basically your career now, so congratulations. Get used to the scavenging lifestyle.”

“I don’t see how you can be so mean,” Thomas said, shaking his head.

“Psh. You think  _ I’m  _ mean?” Remus chuckled darkly. “You haven’t seen mean. You don’t know the meaning.”

“I’ve seen Virgil,” Thomas countered. Remus flinched. “And he was about as mean as mean could be.”

“Not even close…”

“What was that?”

Remus hissed. “You’re not even close. What you’ve seen isn’t the worst of humankind. And that kid? Is a  _ kid _ . Imagine what a mean adult could do. Or a mean Pokemon -- a  _ trained  _ one. Not like you and me. Or one of those Pokemon of legend… No, you haven’t seen  _ mean _ .”

“Whoa! What is that?!” Roman exclaimed. Thomas and Remus both turned their heads.

The enemy Metapod was now lying on the ground, seemingly not able to get back up, and Absolem was bathed in a white glowing light. It was like the light completely enveloped him for a moment, and then it would retreat just enough to leave a silhouette of his body as it began to transform.

“He’s evolving,” Thomas whispered, enthralled by the sight. Remus observed as well; he’d never seen evolution happen in real time. Ratasha, meanwhile, was too busy stealing the remainder of his food to watch.

Absolem’s shadow grew slightly larger and more pointed at the top. Comparing it to the defeated Pokemon on the ground made it pretty obvious what he was about to become. Within moments, the light became blinding, causing everyone’s eyes to squeeze shut.

When the overwhelming light receded, they opened their eyes to see Absolem had evolved into a Metapod. He glanced down at himself, and tried to slide forward like he used to as a Caterpie, but his body was too stiff to move. Even his expression didn’t change -- only his eyes, as he glanced back up at his trainer.

“I’m not sure if this is a promotion or demotion,” Absolem stated.

“Yeah, me either,” Roman admitted, scratching his nose. “But, regardless, congratulations on being the first to evolve!”

“I can’t move,” Absolem stated. Roman reached down and picked him up, frowning a bit at the added weight.

“You’re, like, three times heavier.”

“Hey, don’t blame me,” he replied calmly.

Roman sighed and glanced over at the rest of his team. “Well, I believe we’re ready to move on to the next route now!”

“Oh joy,” Remus muttered. He looked down at where his remaining crackers were supposed to be and his face soured. “Can this day get any better,” he drawled.

“Indeed it can!” Roman exclaimed. “Because we’re about to catch another team member!”

Thomas cheered, Ratasha cocked her head to the side in confusion, Remus rolled his eyes, and Absolem didn’t react at all. (Later, Roman would realize he had already fallen asleep.)

They headed out to route 31 and stood alert at the first patch of grass. “Alright, team, are we ready?” Roman asked. Thomas made a cry of affirmation, which Ratasha echoed.

“I suppose so,” Absolem said calmly. Remus grunted, which Roman took to mean he was ready.

Roman tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment, before deciding, “Thomas, you go!” His Cyndaquil leapt into the grass. A Pidgey and a Spearow both went flying out of the grass and far away before Roman could even throw the ball.

“Shoot. I missed them.”

“No, you didn’t,” Remus spoke up. “They’re not the ones he was after.”

Roman looked back at the grass and realized there was still a lot of rustling. He frowned, puzzled. “But if he’s still going at it, that means the Pokemon is fast, right?” His face suddenly dropped, and Remus snickered. “No…”

But as much as he hoped against it, another Rattata came flying out of the grass toward them. It plopped headfirst on the dirt path in front of them. Thomas came charging out afterward.

“Did I do good?” he asked hopefully. Roman face-palmed.

“We don’t need a third Rattata,” he mumbled. “Thomas, go ahead and try out that new move.”

“Wait -- new move?” Remus backed away warily as Thomas charged toward the Rattata and sucked in a deep breath, before blowing out a fist-sized flame. It engulfed half of the wild Rattata’s body. It let out a single short-lived cry and then passed out only seconds later. The flame died out shortly after, only moments after the Rattata fell unconscious.

“Woo-hoo! You did it!” Roman exclaimed.

Thomas jumped up and down excitedly. “Wasn’t that awesome?!”

Absolem and Remus exchanged nervous glances. “Yes, that was… Good job,” Absolem said awkwardly, looking like he wished he could jump out of Roman’s arms to distance himself from the fire-type.

“But we still didn’t catch a Pokemon…” Roman frowned and pulled up his Pokegear map. His face lit up instantly. “Whoa, we’re really close to Violet City now! We’re on the final route! And -- there’s a cave right up nearby. Let’s see if we can catch anything there!” He stuffed the Pokegear back in his bag, mumbling to himself, “At least there won’t be any more Rattata in  _ there…  _ I hope…”

* * *

Just as Roman said, Dark Cave wasn’t too far ahead. They stood by the entrance and peeked in, but it was completely pitch-black.

“How are we even going to see any Pokemon we find?” Roman wondered. Ratasha stepped on his foot and tried to peer in.

Remus sighed. “Did you forget we have a fire-type with us?”

“Oh yeah!” Thomas concentrated deeply and flames shot out from his backside. “Here, follow me!” The others all backed away from the fire and let him enter first, his light illuminating the cave somewhat. Roman followed him slowly, an unsettling feeling in his gut that something was wrong, that someone might be watching him. But he couldn’t see any eyes.

Roman considered himself a brave person, but when he stepped near a rock and it shifted, he yelped loudly. Thomas spun around and the light no longer covered the rock. “No! Thomas, turn back around!” Thomas did so worriedly, and the light once again shone over the rock. Now that Roman looked down at it, it seemed to be shaking intensely.

Roman exchanged glances with Remus and knelt down beside the rock. “Uh… Excuse me. Are you alright?”

“Ack!” The rock unfolded to reveal a teary-eyed Geodude. “It hurts…”

“What does?”

“The tears…”

“What is it?” Thomas asked worriedly.

“A Geodude,” Remus replied. Thomas suddenly looked tense.

“Then… stop crying?” Roman suggested. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“... You’re not?” The Geodude started rubbing its eyes with its rock-hard hands. Roman didn’t know how  _ that  _ didn’t hurt more than water, but then again, Geodude  _ was  _ 4x weak to it.

“Of course not!” Roman retorted, sounding offended. “I’m merely going to catch you!”

“And that’s  _ so  _ reassuring,” Remus mumbled.

“A-And… is that going to hurt…?”

Roman blinked. “Huh?”

The wild Geodude glanced anxiously at the Pokeballs on his belt. “Does it hurt, being put in one of those?” Roman hesitated, not actually sure what the process was like. He looked to Remus for help.

Remus just huffed. “ _ No _ , it doesn’t hurt. Look, are you coming without a fight, or what?”

“I-I’ll come!” Geodude exclaimed.

Roman beamed. “That’s more like it!” He grabbed a Pokeball and tossed it. “Here goes!”

* * *

The Geodude smiled nervously. “You were right! That didn’t hurt at all!”

“You really doubted me? It’s not like I didn’t go through it myself.”

The Geodude frowned. “I guess, but… The other Geodude like to lie and tease me all the time… So I never know whether they’re being honest or not…”

“Well, don’t you worry now! You’re on our team, and we treat one another fairly!” Roman promised. “Riiiight, Remus?”

“Right,” Remus sighed.

“And now, you need a name… What’s your gender?”

The Geodude looked frantic. “I-Is it not obvious?!”

“Not to us,” Remus replied.

“And it’s not right to assume,” Roman added, his voice firm.

“I’m a girl!”

“Hmm… So I shall call you…” Roman grinned. “Toph! Like Avatar: The Last Airbender!”

“That couldn’t be further--” Remus shook his head. “Fine. I’m not questioning things anymore.” Toph looked confused, but she didn’t say anything.

“Well, Toph, welcome to the team!” Roman exclaimed, shaking her hand. “You’re going to be an extraordinary help against the Violet City gym!”

“Gym?!” Toph paled. “I-I can’t face a gym -- I don’t even know how to fight!”

“Step in line,” Remus said.

“None of that,” Roman scolded. “If you don’t know how, then all we can do is learn!”

“B-But… I-I’ll just get in the way…”

“Nonsense! The only one getting in the way is Ratasha.” Roman pointed his thumb back at Ratasha, who was licking some mold on a stone. “And even she’s not causing too much trouble.”

“But still…”

“Come on, let’s go!” Roman turned and waved everyone off toward the exit.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do just fine,” Absolem said as Roman turned and walked off. Toph nervously followed, Thomas and Remus walking along each side of her.

“Exactly,” Thomas piped up. “You know, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little worried when Remus said you were a Geodude. I didn’t know you guys could be so nice!”

“Hey.” Remus shot him a glare as Toph curled into herself. “You got any sense of shoulds and shouldn’ts?”

“No, it’s okay,” Toph spoke up, her voice resigned. “He’s right -- not all of us are bad, but it’s not exactly a promising ratio.” She frowned, raising her gaze to watch Roman as he led the way, Absolem already dozing off in his arms. “I think he might’ve been more happy if he ran into one of the others, though…”

“Look, we don’t need any self-deprecation here!” Thomas said firmly. “You’re going to be a really strong asset, so there’s no need to feel sorry. Roman’s a great trainer, and he’s going to make us into a Championship team!” They stepped out of the cave. Toph shut her eyes as the intense bright light overwhelmed her.

“... I’m not promising any of that,” Remus said, slowing down to match her speed. “But the kid’ll try.”

“Championship…” Toph hugged herself. “I… I don’t think I’m --”

“Well, none of us are ready yet! But we will be!”

“Again, no promises.”

“Toph! Over here!” Roman gestured to the rest of his team. He had already locked eyes with a bug trainer surrounded by Caterpie and Metapod.

“Well, I guess it’s your turn,” Remus said.

“M-Me…?”

“Yes, you,” he huffed.

“Toph! I choose you!” Roman shouted. Toph wilted under his gaze and floated over to her trainer. Roman patted her on the arm. “You’ve got this.” She felt a warmth inside of her when he flashed her that smile, like he truly  _ trusted  _ her. No one had ever looked at her that way before.

“Uh -- I -- okay…”

“Toph, use Tackle!”

The Geodude gathered her courage and leapt at the first bug-type she was sent out against. She didn’t seem to know her own strength, because she looked just as shocked as the Caterpie when the collision sent it flying into the tall grass.

“Great job, Toph!” Roman exclaimed, and the warm feeling inside of her blossomed. But when the enemy Caterpie slid out of the tall grass, badly bruised but still capable of fighting, she began to panic.

“Caterpie, use String Shot!” the opponent commanded, and Roman and Remus simultaneously face-palmed. Toph cried out in fear and shielded herself with her arms when the white string shot out from the Caterpie’s forehead and covered the grass at her feet. When the move was over, she remained in her protective position, as if she expected something more to happen.

“What’re you waiting for? Hit him with another Tackle!” Roman commanded. Toph jolted at the sound of his voice. She obediently charged at the Caterpie once more, her eyes squeezed shut as she slammed into the bug for the second time. This time, however, it fainted on impact.

“You did it!” Thomas exclaimed, hopping up and down encouragingly.

“You took that one down with no problem,” Absolem pointed out. “Now you only have four left.”

“Four?!” Toph cried, looking wild-eyed at her trainer.

“Yep, you can take them,” Roman said firmly. “Just keep on tackling.”

“Honestly, that’s about all anyone can do here anyway,” Remus said solemnly.

“Wh-Why don’t you switch out with me?” Toph asked, shooting Remus a nervous smile.

“Because he needs you for the gym,” Remus replied. “Look, there’s nothing they can do to hurt you. All they know is Tackle, and you’re a rock type. You’ve got nothing to be worried about, so quit being a wuss.”

“But I--!”

“No more arguments!” Roman instructed. “Toph, use Tackle!”

With her head hanging low, Toph followed her trainer’s commands, sweeping the opponent’s team with no problem whatsoever. Despite this, she returned to her trainer’s side shaking far more than any Geodude Roman had ever seen on tv -- more than any  _ Pokemon  _ he’d seen, period.

“You really are a nervous Nellie, aren’t you?” Roman mused after the fight was over, standing over her with a hand on his hip as she trembled on the ground.

“I-I’ve never won a battle before,” she admitted.

“Well, now you have! How does it feel?” Roman asked, resting his chin on the back of his hand, his voice intrigued.

“... Nerve-wracking,” she answered thoughtfully. “But in a good way.”

“Good!” Roman flashed her a grin. “Get used to that feeling, because you’re going to win us a lot of battles!”

“I… I’ll do my best,” she said slowly, uncertainty shadowing her words.

“Perfect!” Roman turned his head and smiled into the distance, where he saw the trees converging around the entrance to Violet City. “Because we’re about to put all our efforts to the test.”

_ Toph _

_ Geodude, female, met at lv 3 in Dark Cave -> Quirky, Often Lost In Thought _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Now our team has five members, and we've arrived at Violet City. Toph might be nothing like the character she was named after, but she's certainly a welcome member of the team. It was really exciting to add a Geodude to the party, considering the type advantage that gives us over the next two gyms! (Technically, three, since normal doesn't really affect rock that much.) Pretty soon, though, we're going to reach the party limit and we'll start having to make some tough choices... But that's a discussion for another chapter.  
> Absolem's evolution was very exciting in the moment. One step closer to a Butterfree! Unfortunately, though, the rest of the team made next to no progress in their training, and on top of that, we encountered another Rattata. It was not an accident but rather a decision to just take it out rather than catch it; if we ever have a nuzlocke with a team of Rattata, it's going to be Remus's, not Roman's.  
> I didn't publish any chapters recently because I've been sick, and now that I'm better, I have a lot of college work to catch up on, so this story probably won't see another update until close to November. That being said, Remus's Nuzlocke is getting veeeeery close to its conclusion (hopefully it won't suddenly end before that...), so that's another thing to look forward to! Or... not, depending on how well you like Remus and think you can stand his naming conventions.  
> I'm still looking for a beta reader, if anyone's interested!}


	7. Chapter 3.1 - Violet City

_ Chapter 3 - Be A Hero _

Stepping into Violet City was like stepping into a whole new world. Roman had always known New Bark Town was small. He’d thought Cherrygrove City was pretty large in comparison, but he accepted that there were larger cities out there. Still, knowing that there  _ could  _ be larger cities didn’t prepare him for the realization that there  _ were  _ larger cities, and not even very far from where he lived.

It was absolutely thrilling. Evening was falling upon the city and all the bright lights were turning on, lighting up each and every block. Children were bustling about near the Pokemon School, exchanging trading cards and arguing about their worth. Dozens of people stood around the Pokemon Center, either talking in small groups, smoking, or feeding their Pokemon from a bag of food they’d gotten from inside. Roman assumed, due to some of the tents he saw pitched outside, that the Center was rather packed. He wondered how many were trainers taking on the Gym Challenge.

“Roman!” Thomas was standing on a stepstool outside the Pokemon Center and pointing excitedly at one of the posts on the bulletin board. “Fireworks tomorrow night, Roman! Fireworks! Oh, can we stay here for a few days, please? I’ve never seen fireworks before! But they have fire in the name! FIRE!”

“Of course!” Roman replied, nearly as enthusiastic. “Fireworks are an event you can’t just let pass you by.”

“Well, we  _ could _ ,” Remus remarked. Roman shot him a glare.

“Come on, let’s get healed up and then we can explore the city.”

As soon as Roman stepped inside the Pokemon Center to heal his Pokemon, he realized just how right he was about its fullness. Not a single chair, couch, or stool in sight was available. There were rugs laid down in the lounge areas near the couches, and Roman almost couldn’t see the carpet with how many people and Pokemon were lying on top of it. There was a bar in the back of the Center, behind a line where it was required to flash an ID card to enter, and even from the entrance, Roman could hear the whooping from the group of adults who were watching some sports game on the monitors. There was a line to get to the main desk where the nurses stood waiting to assist people and Pokemon, but the line extended out from the desk only a little, then wrapped around the central desk in a large circle that spiraled outwards. Roman realized it would take up to an hour to get his team healed if he had to wait in line, so he passed the time by calling his mother. He placed Ratasha back in her Pokeball so she wouldn’t go missing, but then after realizing just how much space his team was taking up, he returned the others as well -- except for Thomas, who excitedly chatted with his mom on the phone, making sure to let her know just how good of a trainer her son was. It started to make him feel embarrassed.

Once his team was finally fully healed, Roman exited the Pokemon Center as soon as possible; it had gotten even more crowded, to the point where he genuinely struggled to walk without bumping into someone. He admired the nurses for their ability to keep a cool head and deal with the massive amounts of people traveling through the city at all times. Roman was utterly overwhelmed. As soon as he stepped outside, he released his team, allowing them all to experience the exciting atmosphere of the city at night.

The liveliness of the city could not be understated. Roman stopped to witness a Pokemon battle going on outside one of the houses between a couple of inexperienced ten year olds. The one child’s Tangela seemed to be having trouble against the other child’s Butterfree. Absolem watched the Butterfree’s technique with more interest than Roman had ever seen him express in  _ anything _ .

“Don’t walk away,” Absolem complained when the fight was over and Thomas had started pulling him away to go look at some of the stands people had set out.

“The fight’s over.”

“But that Butterfree--”

“Roman! Roman, Roman, they have  _ donuts _ ! Let’s get donuts!”

There were vendors on some of the corners, selling everything from t-shirts displaying Violet City or Falkner, to collectible keychains for different common Pokemon, to Violet City’s famous donuts (which Roman was certain Elm had sent to him via Pokemon delivery, because his town’s donuts were nothing to get excited over), to other random merchandise. Roman found himself wanting to purchase something around every corner, but every time he looked at a stand for too long, Remus scratched his leg and reminded him that they needed to save their money for Antidotes and Potions. Roman knew there was no way he would leave this city without getting something to remember his visit by, but he begrudgingly agreed to wait to spend  _ most  _ of his money until after the gym battle.

Despite this, he still overrode Remus’s complaints for two minor purchases. First, he saw a cool red and white jacket with the text, “Gym Challenger” on the sleeves and back. He put it on immediately, and felt certain that he would almost never find a reason to take it off. Secondly, he bought a little green glow stick necklace for Thomas, because for some reason his starter seemed fascinated by it.

His Pokemon were about as enthralled with the new environment as he was. He lost sight of Ratasha several times when she decided to go scope out new and interesting smells. It made sense; after all, the city was known as “the city of nostalgic scents.” That didn’t mean he didn’t get nervous whenever she ran off on her own, though. However, Absolem, who also seemed intrigued by the scents, managed to shift just enough in Roman’s arms for him to guess where Ratasha might be going. Roman wondered if Absolem re-learning how to move might mean he was getting closer to being battle-ready again. He missed being able to throw Absolem into battle without worrying that he wouldn’t be able to  _ move _ in time to deal any damage.

Thomas was entertained by the bright lights displayed throughout the city, from lampposts to store lights to the sparklers some kids were playing with near the woods. He pointed out the various neon displays, and begged Roman to stop and let him go eat s’mores by a campfire someone had set up. Roman had to tell him it wouldn’t be right to ask for someone else’s food, but Thomas still looked longingly at the campfire as they passed by it.

Toph was intimidated by all the people, and she would curl in on herself and drop to the ground whenever the presence of an energetic person frightened her. It wasn’t as if she was good at hiding; it was pretty obvious whenever she made her ‘transformation’ into a rock, especially since she allowed gravity to slam her onto the ground, making a loud sound, and it sometimes made an indent in the pavement.

One time when she did it without anyone passing by them, Roman sighed and turned around. “Toph, what now?”

“I think someone’s following us,” she whispered.

“What?” Remus suddenly went from neutral to high alert. “What did you see?”

“Nothing, but I -- I have a  _ feeling _ .”

“No one is following us,” Roman insisted.

“Are you sure…?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Remus rolled his eyes, though from the stiffness of his tail, it was clear he was still on edge. “Maybe wait till you see something before you sound the alarm? Geez…”

But for all his attitude, Remus seemed to be enjoying the city as well. He kept up with them enough to be the voice of reason whenever Roman wanted to swipe his trainer id and buy some merch, but at other times, he would simply be gone somewhere. Roman almost didn’t notice he was going off places on his own, with how distracted he was watching over Ratasha and taking in the sights. The only reason he noticed at all was because Thomas noticed and panicked, about to run off and search the whole city for his teammate -- but moments later Remus reappeared seemingly out of nowhere, his pace more relaxed than usual.

One thing they all admired from afar was Sprout Tower and the surrounding lake. The building was a purple-eaved pagoda, which Roman had never seen in person before. Simply looking at it made him feel relaxed -- although, if he stared at it closely enough, he could trick himself into thinking he could see it swaying. It was just across the lake, reachable by bridge, and it was surrounded on three sides by a forest. There were lampposts on the bridge and on the land next to the tower, drawing one’s eye to its mystique in the night.

Now that Roman had spent hours in Violet City, gawking in wonder at everything it held, the magic was beginning to wear off enough for him to start planning ahead. He opened up the map card on his Pokegear and began tracing their two possible paths.

“After we face the gym, it looks like we can either go north or south,” Roman said aloud, grabbing his Pokemon’s attention. “If we go south to Azalea Town, we can face another gym before going north through the Ilex Forest to reach Goldenrod City, where there’s another gym, and then head north from there. Or, we can go through this intersection to the west, and then south through Goldenrod and then Azalea and we’d end up back here.”

“Slow down there; you’re not ready for  _ this  _ gym yet,” Remus reminded him. “Focus on surviving one gym before you start planning for the next.”

“And I called  _ Toph  _ a Nervous Nellie,” Roman said with a scoff. Toph cowered where she was hovering in the air. “We will be  _ fine _ ! All we need to do is get some more training in, and we’ll have no problem with this gym.” Roman glanced down at the map card again and his eyes lightened up. “Not only that, but we also have the opportunity to catch another Pokemon in Route 32 when we go to train!” Roman turned off his Pokegear and reached over his shoulder to drop the device into his open bookbag. “Let us add another member to our party!”

“Right now?” Remus asked skeptically.

“Right now!” Roman replied. He waved his team onward through an opening in the trees. “Come on! We have space for one more team member!” Thomas excitedly hurried onward, the movement making Ratasha curious enough to chase after him.

“Yeah, but it’s not like we have the time and energy for them,” Remus grumbled, before begrudgingly following.

* * *

Roman blinked down at the first wild creature he’d found in the grass. “ _ Another _ Rattata?” he complained.

“You really don’t have good luck, do you?” Remus mused. He stepped forward, before digging his front paws into the ground and stretching out his back. “Do you want me to take care of it?”

Roman sighed. “Maybe this is the universe telling me I should make a team of Rattata.”

Remus snickered. “I highly doubt it.” In a sudden movement, he launched himself at the wild Rattata and it went flying into the grass.

“At least you’ve gotten stronger,” Roman noted. “Took you long enough.”

“Not strong enough yet,” Remus mumbled, stepping into the tall grass and waiting for the sound of movement. As soon as he heard the rustling of the grass, he charged at the creature with all his speed and slammed into it. To his surprise, the creature passed out upon impact. “... Or, maybe I am.” He slunk back out of the tall grass and gave Roman the best attempt at a shrug he could. “Looks like I knocked it out.”

“Hey, I was still gonna catch it!” Roman complained.

“We don’t need three Rattata on the team,” Remus pointed out. “You should save your Pokeballs.”

“Don’t be so jealous for attention!” Thomas accused. “We need all the help we can get.”

“Oh, yes, because I’m  _ so  _ desperate for the spotlight,” he deadpanned.

Roman sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. “Well, all we can do now is return to the city, and see if we can find someplace to sleep for the night. We might have to spend the night outdoors, with how busy the Pokemon Center was earlier.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Remus said.

“Me either,” Absolem replied.

“Or me,” Toph piped up.

Roman frowned. “Oh, right. I guess you all practically live outdoors.”

“I don’t!” Thomas replied cheerfully. “But I don’t mind. It’ll be fun!”

“Fun? All it is is sleep,” Remus told him.

“No, it’ll be like a sleepover!” Thomas argued.

“Isn’t that just spent like a normal night, though?” Absolem asked.

“These Pokemon just don’t understand,” Roman said, shaking his head sadly. “Don’t worry, Thomas.  _ I _ understand the thrill of a sleepover. And we shall have the best one  _ ever _ !”

* * *

That night was  _ not  _ the best night ever. Roman felt itchy the whole time, the noise of the city kept him up for several hours, and in the morning, he had to rip a tick off of his back.

Thomas seemed to enjoy himself, though. He’d found it amusing when he brought out the flame in his back and it attracted some flies. He spent much of the night trying to convince Remus to share a story, since it was “his turn.” Roman and Thomas had shared some stories of their own -- Roman told the story of Tangled, while Thomas tried his best to tell a ghost story that no one believed.

Absolem, meanwhile, had gone to sleep before Roman even set him down for the night. For once, Ratasha had tired herself out and she was curled up between Roman’s ankles, making his attempts at sleeping quite uncomfortable. Even when he adjusted his position so he was lying on his side, she didn’t seem to wake up, but she still ended up pressed against his leg. Thomas cuddled up to Absolem, and Toph slept inches away from them, disguised as an immobile rock.

When the morning light woke him up, Roman contemplated trying to get a few more hours in, but all of the travelers around him had started moving, and he found himself following in their footsteps. He stood in the painstakingly long line for free coffee in the Pokemon Center and fed his team the last of the food his mother had left for him. After waiting in the coffee line, he moved on to the line for baked goods, which took about twenty minutes because some little kid couldn’t decide between a chocolate donut with sprinkles and a chocolate chip muffin. Roman grabbed a lemon pastry, hoping the sour taste would help wake him up. He filled his food containers with lemon bread, biscuits, and some of the Pokemon Center’s specialized Pokemon food pellets, then grabbed a few apples, hoping it would be enough for him and his Pokemon for one day. He wasn’t the best at rationing and he didn’t pretend to be.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Thomas asked, skipping at Roman’s feet.

Roman glanced up and saw the Sprout Tower in the distance. Something about the building was alluring to him. He felt the urge to explore build up inside of him. “There,” he said, pointing. “We’re going to find out what’s at the top of that tower.”

“I thought we were training for the gym?” Toph asked, confused.

“Who knows? There might be a trainer or two inside. Look, can’t you see the tower shaking?” Roman kept his finger pointed on the building, as he and his Pokemon all stared at the building for a while.

“... I  _ think  _ I saw some movement?” Absolem said, though it sounded like more of a question than a statement.

“You were just imagining it,” Remus replied. “And even if it  _ was  _ moving, that should be a giant red flag against going in.”

“Oh, have some sense of adventure!” Roman retorted. “Thomas, you want to take a look, don’t you?”

“Definitely!” his fire-type exclaimed.

“Shocker,” Remus said sarcastically.

* * *

Up close, Sprout Tower had an air of… unease surrounding it. Roman clenched the right strap of his bookbag, pulling it tight against his back, and tightened his hold on Absolem as they left the bridge and approached the entrance. The tower definitely seemed to be wavering back and forth, in a way that was much more concerning up close.

Remus stared upward uneasily. “That looks about two inches from collapsing.”

“What are we going to do if we get stuck in there?” Toph asked, her eyes wide and her voice shaky. “If it falls over we’ll land in the lake and the wood will pin us down and we’ll all  _ die _ !”

Thomas shuddered at the thought, seeming to reconsider going into the tower. He opened his mouth to speak, but then a small body rubbed against his back. Ratasha plopped down at his side, nuzzling her head against his arm. Thomas paused to give her a gentle squeeze, his mouth curving into a smile. He looked back up at the tower, his fears dissipating. “We’ll be fine,” he said decidedly. Everyone looked at him dubiously. He gestured down toward Ratasha. “If anything happens, we’ll be together!”

“... Y-Yeah, exactly! We’ll  _ die  _ together!” Toph cried out again, not seeming to understand his point. Thomas just flashed her a smile, and somehow his fearless expression was enough to calm her into an anxious silence.

“We’re not  _ actually  _ doing this, are we?” Remus pressed, his eyes not leaving the swaying tower above them.

Roman sucked in a deep breath. “Well, we decided we’re going in, and so we are!” He took the first courageous step into the tower, and his team hesitantly followed.

The base of the tower wasn’t very large -- just a square room with a ladder into the next room, and a few people standing around, talking quietly, as if trying not to wake someone. But what really stood out to them was the pillar in the center that kept shaking back and forth.

“Whoa,” Roman and Thomas chorused, as they inched closer to the pillar, inspecting it.

“Uh, I think we should move…  _ away…  _ from it…?” Toph suggested.

The woman who stood closest to the pillar noticed Roman’s approach and smiled welcomingly. “Is this your first time in the tower?” she asked. Roman nodded. “They say that there was a hundred-foot-tall Bellsprout used to make the pillar.”

“That’s impossible,” Remus retorted.

“Perhaps.” The woman seemed unfazed by his remark, her eyes tracing the pillar as if for the first time. “The pillar might frighten you, but rest assured that its flexibility protects it from earthquakes. Safety is guaranteed by its pillar.”

“What seems unstable is actually what makes it work,” Roman noted, eyes alight with interest. “That’s brilliant!”

The woman gave him a knowing look. “And because it’s so sturdy, there are often trainer battles awaiting those who climb the tower.” She smiled. “I’m assuming that’s why you’re here?”

Roman exchanged a grin with Thomas. “Not at all, but that’s why I’ll be staying!”

For the first time, she looked confused. “Not many of your age choose to visit the tower except for battling. If I may ask, why  _ did  _ you come here?”

“Something about it called to me,” Roman replied. The woman suddenly looked concerned.

“Well, there’s another thing you should know, then. It’s been said that ghosts have been seen here at night.”

“Ghosts?” Thomas blanched.

“Yes. That’s why there’s often more trainers here during the day. So I suggest you not come out too late, especially if you believe in the supernatural.” She paused, then forced a chuckle. “Of course, it’s just a rumor.”

Roman smiled uneasily. “Of course.” He looked down at his team, then sighed and lifted one of his Pokeballs. “Well, it seems it’s time to train. Let’s head upwards!”

“Your doom,” Remus snarked, just before vanishing into his ball.

Roman sighed, putting the ball back on his belt. “He needs to get over that attitude.”

He put the remainder of his team back in their balls with little problem -- Toph and Absolem had actually seemed eager to be in the security of their Pokeballs. He waved to the woman before turning to the ladder and beginning the climb.

It took him less than a minute to climb through the opening to the next room. Frowning, he stepped onto the wooden floorboards and winced when he heard them creak. “This really,  _ really  _ doesn’t feel safe,” he muttered to himself before putting his other foot down and taking a few cautionary steps. It didn’t feel like the floor was going to collapse beneath him, and he reassured himself by recalling the woman’s words. If Pokemon battles took place up here without a hitch, then he was safe.

Roman put on a brave face and took another step forward, seeing a monk standing on the other side of the floor in a meditative pose. ‘I wonder if he’s a trainer,’ he thought to himself. As he took another step toward the man, however, the air in front of him suddenly felt cold against his skin, and then a shadowy shape began to manifest, blocking out his vision of the monk in the distance.

Roman stumbled back when he saw two large, menacing eyes appear out of thin air, nearly screaming from the scare, but before he could really react, the full shape of the thing in front of him became clear and a jovial voice came from its mouth, the last thing to appear.

“Don’t scream, don’t scream!” it exclaimed, a laugh bursting from the gas-like Pokemon. Roman recognized it as a Gastly; this must have been what the woman meant when she said there were ghosts sighted in the tower. Something about its laugh made him feel more at ease; it was a Santa Claus sort of laugh, one that made you feel safe. “I’m not a haunter, if you know what I mean.”

Roman just stared at the Gastly for a moment, still in shock from its sudden appearance. Then he slowly moved his hand toward his belt where Thomas’s Pokeball was clipped on.

“Wait, wait, wait, don’t get the wrong idea!” The Gastly exclaimed, though its tone was strangely not one of fear, but one of amusement. “I don’t want to fight you, human. No, I’m not much of a fighter. But I have some good ghost stories for you, if you don’t find them too  _ ghastly _ .”

Roman continued to just stare and blink at the boisterous ghost Pokemon while it cackled at its own joke. Then he reached into one of his bookbag pockets, which made the Gastly stop and watch him curiously. Before it knew what as happening, Roman had thrust a Pokeball at it and the red light danced through the room, snatching up the ghost and closing tight.

One.

Two.

Three.

**_Click._ **

Roman smirked as he raised the ball up in the air. He hadn’t thought he’d catch a ghost-type -- and certainly not this early! If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t have much interest in ghost or poison types -- he preferred fire and fighting -- but it was much,  _ much  _ better than coming across yet another Rattata.

“Welcome to the team, Casper the Friendly Ghost,” Roman joked. He released his team to introduce them to the new member.

“Ah, a christening.” Casper nodded a greeting toward the other Pokemon, who had mostly clumped together. Ratasha, for the first time, looked genuinely spooked, and was hiding behind Thomas’s leg. Toph and Absolem were also standing behind Thomas with wide eyes. Roman realized that was how he had probably looked earlier. From the small smile on Casper’s face, he knew it wasn’t the first time the ghost’s mere presence made people want to flee.

“H-Hello,” Thomas eventually managed, gulping down his fear. He tried to move closer but Ratasha had wrapped her tail around his leg and he tripped.

“Welcome to the party,” Remus said, in a voice that sounded sarcastic but Roman couldn’t really tell.

“Is it…  _ safe…  _ to let him join us…?” Absolem asked quietly, too quiet for Roman to hear.

However, Remus did. “Of course it is,” he replied. “... At least it is for me. Normal types and ghost types can’t do any harm on the other.”

“Ghost types know Dream Eater,” Absolem said seriously. “And Nightmare.”

“Not if they’re weak enough to get caught with a Pokeball.”

“M-Maybe he’s fine,” Toph suggested hesitantly.

“Yeah, look at Toph.” Remus swayed his tail toward her. “Never met a nice Geodude before. Not that I’ve met many Geodude. The same could apply for a ghost.”

Absolem paused. “Well, if you’re sure…”

“So, you’re building a team. What for?” Casper inquired.

“I’m going to become the Pokemon Champion,” Roman stated. Casper took one look at Thomas, who was trying to unwrap Ratasha’s tail from his leg, but she was hanging on tight.

“It seems you have a ways to go,” he noticed. Roman probably would’ve gotten annoyed with just about anyone else if they’d said that, but the way Casper spoke, it wasn’t an insult. His tone didn’t imply that Roman couldn’t do it; it implied that he  _ could _ . “I don’t know how much use I can be, to be frank with you. But I will do my best.”

Roman beamed. “And I assure you that I will do the same!”

“Still waiting for him to uphold  _ that  _ promise….”

“Remus, give it a brea-- Ratasha,  _ stop _ ,” Thomas groaned, as he nearly managed to pull her off before she bit him and curled around his leg again.

Roman kneeled down and pulled Ratasha off of Thomas, before picking up Absolem and holding against his left side. “Okay, we good to go? Absolem, you’re going first, buddy.”

Thomas ran in front of Roman and raised his nub-like hands to his knee to stop him. “Wait! I want to fight!”

“Absolem needs the training more,” Roman told him. “And Toph, if we’re using her against the gym.”

“You’re overleveled anyway, kid.”

Thomas’s flame shot upward from his backside. “Remus, I’m  _ not  _ a  _ kid _ !”

“Doesn’t  _ she  _ need the levels?” Casper asked. Roman looked at him.

“You know, I don’t know who you mean when you’re looking at me and you don’t have hands.”

“The little rat.”

Roman looked down at Ratasha, who was curled up snugly around his arm, and his face softened. “I don’t think I can send her into battle,” Roman murmured.

“I see.” Casper’s voice was understanding; there was no judgement, no disapproval. Roman wished that it could have given him comfort, but now that the team was full, Roman realized that he would soon be forced to decide who was on the team and who lived out the rest of their days in the PC. Looking at Ratasha, so innocent and trusting, he didn’t know which future would be best for her -- or if he could even afford to put her needs over the team’s.

_ Casper _

_ Gastly, male, met at lv 5 in Sprout Tower -> Modest, Good Perseverance _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {New teammate! We have found our first six!  
> I just realized that the way these chapters are structured, there's been almost a new teammate each part. That wasn't intentional. In fact, this chapter was planned to be a few pages longer; I decided to take those pages and put them into the next part, which is why it may seem to end sort of abruptly.  
> A lot of the battles are not very descriptive in these opening chapters partially because the Pokemon don't really have many fighting moves, so the battles aren't as varied. As we go on, there will be more time spent on the battles, especially as they start to affect the story and characters in a dramatic way.  
> Anyway, about this chapter -- we've reached Violet City, begun to climb the Sprout Tower, and Casper The Friendly Ghost has joined our party! In the actual game, it was nighttime when this happened, but for the purposes of the story, it made more sense to make this event during the day. It was very exciting to come across a wild Gastly instead of yet ANOTHER Rattata.  
> Casper has a sort of Uncle Iroh energy to me, in that he can be jolly and boisterous, but also wise and understanding. He isn't particularly useful at his low level, though, with just Hypnosis, Lick, and Spite, but his typing has a lot of potential.  
> Now the team is Thomas, Remus, Ratasha, Absolem, Toph, and Casper -- the OG team! Which one is your favorite?}


	8. Chapter 3.2 - Sprout Tower

Several battles later (which mostly involved Roman throwing his green bug-type’s hardened body into enemy Bellsprouts until they were in no condition to fight, and Thomas waiting eagerly to hop in if anything went wrong), there was a familiar flash of white light over Absolem’s body.

Roman paused for a moment, concerned, until he realized what this meant. He grinned and scooped up Thomas in his arms, exclaiming, “It’s time! It’s time!”

Absolem vanished into the blinding light, but just before Roman had to shut his eyes, he noticed the green cocoon begin to crack. The light was too strong for even a silhouette to make it through -- everyone squeezed their eyes shut and waited for the transformation to be complete.

When Roman finally opened his eyes, in Absolem’s place was a Butterfree testing out its new wings. It was shocking, witnessing how Absolem’s eyes, once black irises, were now a shining red. His body once green, now it was a soft purple, his hands and feet cyan. Roman felt as if he were staring at someone completely different -- not Absolem, but someone else.

“What a magnificent thing evolution is.” The sage Roman had just been battling gave him a smile as he returned his fainted Bellsprout to its Pokeball.

**_Absolem learned Confusion!_ **

“Absolem!” Roman exclaimed. “This is fantastic!”

“It does feel nice to be able to move again,” he replied calmly, as if this weren’t an enormous change in his life. He sounded amused by Roman’s enthusiasm.

Absolem got the hang of his new form fairly quickly -- at least, quickly enough to flutter over to Roman and drop himself on his head, his wings collapsing on the sides of Roman’s head like floppy dog ears. “I think I’ve earned a nap,” Absolem explained.

“I guess that  _ IS  _ fair,” Roman replied, wondering how comfortable his head must be for sleeping on. “Toph, it’s your turn!”

Toph looked at him with dread in her expression. “But… But Bellsprout are grass-type. They’ll destroy me instantly!”

“You’re higher-leveled. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Don’t worry. I can protect you now,” Absolem stated, his voice calm and reassuring. Toph felt heat radiating from the sides of her face, and for once, was glad that she was a Geodude, because no one could see it on her rocky exterior.

“And I will too!” Thomas promised. “We’ll back you up.” Toph smiled bashfully.

“The floor after the next is your last,” the sage informed him. “I wish you good luck.”

* * *

Some good luck that gave him.

The last sage on the next floor used a critical hit Vine Whip on Toph, slamming her into the center pillar.

**_Toph -- 2 HP_ **

“Toph!” Thomas cried, already running in her direction to provide assistance. Roman sucked in a deep and anxious breath of air, holding out the Pokeball to return Toph before she could fall through the hole of the pillar down to the first floor.

“Thomas?” Roman said meaningfully. Thomas stopped in his tracks, turning his head to glare at the Bellsprout. The fire on his back flared, and suddenly the Bellsprout looked panicked.

The sage looked concerned as well, but for a different reason. “Wait! Be careful with that one -- it could burn down the tower.” His Bellsprout looked at him incredulously.

“Ember,” Roman said. That was all that needed to be said. Within seconds, the Bellsprout was screeching, its leaves becoming burnt and shriveled, and then it was unconscious and the fire burned out.

“That’s still utterly terrifying,” Absolem murmured. Roman jumped.

“Oh gosh, I forgot you were there.”

“That was my plan all along. You fell for my trap card,” he said breezily.

Roman narrowed his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you look at my phone.”

“It is too late, mother. I have seen everything.”

* * *

Roman returned to the Pokemon Center to heal Toph, but it turned out he had to wait over an hour, even in her critically injured state. Trainers were rushing in with tears in their eyes, pleading with the nurses to heal their Pokemon that had been killed or nearly killed in the gym battle. Roman watched with wide eyes as a boy his age sobbed and held out his Zubat toward the nurse, screaming at her to take it, as blood pooled out of the Zubat’s body and onto the floor. The nurse handled the situation with a professional sympathy while the boy dropped to his knees, curling his body around his deceased Pokemon and screaming. Eventually he was moved outside by security, and the nurse smiled gently at the next in line, saying, “Next,” as if this happened every day.

Roman couldn’t meet any of his team’s eyes for the rest of his wait. A silence fell among them, as they listened to trainers begging to know how their Pokemon were doing -- sometimes regular people asking to see their family members who had been hospitalized. Roman decided that he’d take a small town Pokemon Center over a city one anytime. He didn’t think he could ever get used to seeing such suffering.

The Zubat lingered in his mind. He squeezed Ratasha, who he was holding in his arms while she licked his wrist. Roman couldn’t let that happen to any of his team.

* * *

Roman reached the top floor, a healed Toph battling every sage’s (underleveled) Bellsprout standing in their way from reaching the back of the room, which was hidden by the pillar. It was when Roman walked past that he caught the sight of a familiar redhead arguing with the final sage.

“Virgil,” he muttered. Thomas and Remus grew tense; the others just looked confused.

**_“Hold on. You named your rival Virgil?” Virgil looked annoyed. He stood with a soda in his hand behind the couch where Roman was currently playing his game._ **

**_“Y-Yeah, so?”_ **

**_Virgil just stared at him for a moment before shrugging. “Whatever.” He turned around and walked away._ **

**_“At least decide whether you’re offended or not!” Roman called out after him._ **

Virgil turned around, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Roman. “You,” he said, before striding toward him. Roman’s mouth felt dry; he swallowed down the small, unreasonable flicker of fear he felt, and watched as Virgil’s eyes drifted to the other members of his team. Virgil stared at Casper for a second longer than the rest, then scoffed as he looked down where Thomas stood with Remus and Ratasha by either side. “Rattata? You’ve added that trash to your team -- twice?”

Ratasha just blinked up at him, not quite understanding. She moved toward him curiously but Thomas jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her protectively, holding her in place. He glared up at Virgil, as if daring him to take another step closer.

“You shouldn’t waste time and Pokeballs on weaklings,” Virgil snarked. “Like him. He calls himself the Elder, but he was no match for me.” Roman frowned, wondering if that meant Virgil had added new Pokemon to his team, the Elder had more varied Pokemon, or if Totodile had just become strong enough to defeat Bellsprout with little problem. Either way, it was concerning. “Sure enough, those who lecture how you should be ‘nice’ to Pokemon… They cannot defeat me.”

“Totodile,” Thomas muttered.

Virgil paused. “What?”

Thomas met his eyes, fire meeting ice. “Send out Totodile. I want to see him.”

Virgil scoffed. “And why would I do that?”

“You better not be hurting him!” Thomas shouted angrily. Ratasha squirmed in his grip.

“Of course I am. It’s called  _ battle _ . Pokemon train and fight and hurt and heal and the cycle continues. It’s how the world works.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “It seems I won’t have to worry about you getting in my way after all. You’re too soft.” With that, Virgil moved forward again, clearly with the intention to walk right by him. Thomas’s back flared when he got close.

“Thomas,” Roman scolded. Thomas’s face remained tense, but the flames faded. Virgil shot him a look as he stormed past, heading to the ladder to leave the tower.

“Who was that?” Absolem asked.

“Virgil,” Roman responded. “He stole a Pokemon from the lab where I met Thomas.” Thomas began to relax when Virgil vanished from his sight, releasing Ratasha, who scurried freely around the floor. “This is only the second time we’ve ran into him since… The last time, it ended with a battle.” Thomas looked around the room, catching the curious looks Casper, Absolem, and Toph were giving Roman, as the newcomers on the team. His eyes passed over Remus, who looked just as tense as he felt.

“Hey,” Thomas spoke up, catching his eye. Thomas forced a smile, trying to forget his worries for a moment, to help pull the team together. “Don’t listen to anything that guy says. He’s not worth our time.”

Remus snorted. “Yeah, whatever. Says the guy who was about to light him on fire.”

“I was not!” Thomas argued. “I was just gonna… light his bag on fire?” He paused to reconsider. “Maybe his hair…”

“Wow, great self-control there, Tommy. That’s  _ definitely  _ not something that would come back to bite your trainer in the rear.”

Thomas frowned. “You think Roman would get in trouble?”

Remus shrugged. “I dunno. Considering how the cops are pro’lly after red anyway, he wouldn’t get reported. But we’d be on red’s revenge list, and I’d rather try and avoid people like him, thanks.” He glanced at Roman and frowned. “Well, other than the one I’m legally binded to.”

Roman had heard the last half of that conversation, and he glared down at Remus. “What? I’m nothing like Virgil,” Roman scoffed. Remus gave him a look that clearly said he thought otherwise.

Ignoring him, Roman caught the eye of the Elder, who had been watching after Virgil with a distubed look on his face as he stroked his beard. Upon making eye contact with Roman, though, his expression turned neutral. Roman approached him, gesturing to his team to follow. He noticed the Elder examining his team from afar, and wondered worriedly if it were obvious that they had not been a team for very long.

“It is good of you to come here,” the Elder said with a welcoming smile. “Sprout Tower is meant to be a place where people and Pokemon can test their bonds to build a bright future together.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball, his eyes glinting. “I am the final test.” Roman nodded, brow furrowed as he waited for the Elder to call out his first Pokemon. “Allow me to check the ties between you and your Pokemon!”

With that, the Elder clicked the button in the center of his ball and tossed it into the air. To no one’s surprise, a Bellsprout popped out, but this one seemed… different from the rest. Less frightened, more experienced. Roman frowned, almost unsure if he trusted Toph to take care of this one by herself.

“Thomas, you wanted this?” he asked. His starter Pokemon leapt forward immediately, a look of confidence on his face that Roman strove to match.

“They’re all mine!” he exclaimed. The Elder took one look at Thomas and gave a tiny nod to himself, as if he were already accepting his defeat.

It didn’t take long for Thomas to wipe out the Elder’s two Bellsprout. He charged forward and launched an Ember at each of them. The first Bellsprout was knocked unconscious immediately before its vines could latch around Thomas’s feet; the second Bellsprout suffered a continuous burn that ended up knocking him out a turn later. The Elder’s final Pokemon was a Hoothoot.

“We haven’t come across a Hoothoot yet!” Roman exclaimed.

“Hypnosis!” The Elder commanded, and the Hoothoot squawked at Thomas. The Cyndaquil was unable to see the move so it hit him full-on, and suddenly his eyes were heavy from exhaustion, his feet barely able to keep him standing.

Thomas turned his head to face Roman, his eyes fluttering shut and his body swaying. “Roman, I… I think you should… swi…” Unable to finish his sentence, Thomas slumped over, snoring softly before he even hit the ground.

_ ‘Ah. I forgot how annoying that move can be,’ _ Roman thought to himself, all his excitement at seeing a new Pokemon vanishing completely. “Thomas, return!” Roman recalled him with his Pokeball, then nodded to Toph. “You’re up. You can do this. Give ‘em a Tackle!”

The declaration of confidence warmed her heart. Toph faced the final opponent and flew brazenly toward it. The Hoothoot’s trainer told it to attempt a Hypnosis, but Toph reached it first and pounded her fists against its body as she tumbled into it. The Hoothoot fell to the floor, rolling to a slow stop. When it didn’t make a move to get up, Roman and the Elder met eyes again, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Excellent. You have trained your Pokemon well in battle, and your bonds…” The Elder frowned, looking down at Remus, who stared right back with a raised eyebrow. “... while they could use some work, you are certainly on the right track to becoming a skilled trainer.” Roman wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. The Elder fumbled in his pocket again before pulling out what looked like a disc. “Here; you should be able to make use of this.” He handed it over, and Roman held it up to his eye in confusion. “This is a Technical Machine called Flash. When your Pokemon uses Flash, you will illuminate caves no matter how dark they may be.” The Elder sprayed some sort of Potion-like substance on his Bellsprout’s wounds, and within seconds it was opening its eyes and rising to rub its head against the sage’s legs. The Elder smiled. “Bellsprout, for example, are known to be able to use this move.”

_ ‘Ah, that explains the Bellsprout,’ _ Roman thought. But after a brief reflection, he realized just how little he knew. Why so many Bellsprout in this tower specifically? Did it often have power outages? It had to be coordinated -- otherwise not so many people would have the same exact Pokemon with them.

“So, what’s next on the itinerary?” Casper asked, startling Roman from his thoughts. He stuck the ™ in his bag and gave it a moment’s thought.

“To the Pokemon Center to heal?” Roman suggested.

“And eat!” Thomas chimed in.

“And eat,” Remus agreed, making Thomas beam in his direction.

They began walking toward the ladder, two-by-two -- Roman and Ratasha (the latter trying to hop onto his feet whenever he stepped on the floorboards), Thomas and Remus (the former speaking excitedly about the fireworks that night, the latter making small sarcastic comments), Toph and Casper. Casper was asking Toph questions about herself -- her favorite color (white), her least favorite food (worms -- a comment that made Thomas shudder), her favorite time of day (the early hours of the morning when the sun hasn’t yet risen). Absolem was flying overhead, watching Casper with skepticism.

Absolem cleared his throat. “What do  _ you  _ eat, Casper?”

He seemed amused. “Not souls or dreams, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Toph frowned. “Can you even eat without hands?”

“It’s a difficult task, but yes, it’s possible. Evolution would certainly be nice, as averse as I am to conflict.”

“Another thing… It’s in the middle of the day.” Remus looked inquisitive. “I thought the ghosts didn’t come out except at night.”

“Ghosts and ghost-type Pokemon are two very different beings,” Casper explained. “... But you’re right; I’m a little bit of an anomaly. Being a ghost-type is very tiring, you know. You’re expected to live in a specific environment -- old abandoned buildings, graveyards, all the places people never visit. Then, when they do, they’re too terrified to strike up a conversation. I’d rather take a chance approaching a trainer than follow the horde.”

“I’ve never heard of ghost-types wandering around the way we do,” Remus said.

Casper smiled. “Believe it or not, we’re quite the tight-knit community. I had to break a fair few hearts before they let me approach a trainer.”

Roman thought about his mother and Professor Elm, and the rest of the people in his community who had seemed hesitant about his decision. He wondered if they thought about him recently -- he wondered how they’d react when he returned, if they would be glad to see him again or if they would have moved on.

… Well, no point in worrying about it. When he returned as the Pokemon Champion, everyone in the world would have to know his name! He would be loved and praised and accepted anywhere he went. He’d be living his dream.

Roman found himself swept up in a daydream for the rest of the walk to the Pokemon Center, Toph and Casper’s voices fading into white noise behind him.

* * *

“Well, that was fun!” Thomas said cheerfully. He was seated on the counter; one of the nurses had taken a liking to him and allowed him to sit there while Roman waited for the rest of his Pokemon to be cleared to go. Casper nodded in agreement, but the other simply shrugged or stayed silent in disagreement.

Suddenly Roman heard a commotion from across the Center, and he turned to see a familiar face that he couldn’t quite put a name to standing further in, a small crowd of people around him. Vaguely, he registered the nurse giving him the okay to go. He took back his pokeballs and lifted Thomas off the counter and onto the floor before heading over to the man who seemed to be radiating positive energy.

“Are you the guy from ‘The Show Me Show?!’” one of the young boys near him asked, with an excited gasp. The man laughed heartily.

“Yes, that’s me! Primo!” The name jogged Roman’s memory; this man was a famous actor on tv! He quickly moved through the crowd until he was able to see Primo clearly. “I’m here today to chat with any fans, so please, if you’re interested, don’t be shy!” Primo gestured toward a box which sat behind him, protected by two security guards who appeared unfriendly, one with a snarling Arcanine standing beside him. “I even have some gifts in case I come across a very  _ special  _ fan.”

Well, if  _ that  _ didn’t have Roman intrigued. Somehow, the crowd developed into a sort of line, with those on the left side of the semi-circle they’d formed around Primo being the first able to speak to him. Roman rehearsed the words he wanted to say to this man in his mind, ignoring Remus’s complaints and Thomas’s impatience.

It took them a half hour to get to speak to Primo, and when Roman did, Primo’s face lit up upon seeing his jacket. “Ah, you are a Pokemon trainer! Have you been to the Pokeathlon yet?”

“Not yet, but I’ll be participating in it as soon as I can!” Roman replied.

“I never agreed to that,” Remus hissed quietly.

“Shhh,” Thomas mumbled, nudging him. “Don’t ruin this for him.”

“I come from New Bark Town, so I’ve never been in the area, but we would watch it on tv all the time.”

“Ah, New Bark Town! That’s where Professor Elm’s research lab is, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is! He’s my neighbor, actually.” Roman smiled and gestured to Thomas. “He gave me my starter Pokemon. This is Thomas.”

“Hello!” Thomas greeted, waving kindly.

Primo looked shocked at the sight of the little fire type. “How intriguing! I’ve never seen a Pokemon of that kind before.” He knelt down and smiled. “What is your species called, my friend?”

“Cyndaquil,” Thomas replied.

“Have you heard the news from Professor Elm’s lab?” Roman asked. Primo looked intrigued -- good! The more information he could give, the more he would stand out -- the more likely he would receive a special gift! Roman leaned in toward him and explained in a low voice, “One of the professor’s three rare Pokemon was stolen by a boy with long red hair. It’s about as rare as Cyndaquil, a water-type known as Totodile. He’s also on a mission to become the greatest Pokemon trainer.” Roman pulled away. “Part of my mission is to ensure that, if I run into him, I can prevent him from causing more damage anywhere. I’ve only run into him once at Sprout Tower, but so far he hasn’t caused any other crimes that we know of. But he’s still on the run for his initial crime of breaking and entering.”

“How interesting!” Primo exclaimed. “You say your mission? What mission?”

Roman smiled. “Well, to become the Pokemon Champion, of course!”

“What a lofty goal!”

“I know,” Roman chuckled. “Well, I do have a secondary task.” Roman reached into his bag and pulled out a Pokedex. “I was given this by Professor Oak while making a delivery between Mr. Pokemon and Professor Elm. It records information about Pokemon caught, synchronizing with the pokeballs in my possession.”

“May I?”

Primo held the Pokedex and let Roman show him how it worked. Roman declined to share any further information about the professor’s discoveries, but did admit that, at some point in his life, he had been in possession of a Pokemon egg because of his proximity to the professor.

“Amazing!” Primo’s eyes lit up. “Then I have just the thing for you!” He turned to the box, and Roman’s anticipation peaked, his heart speeding up at the thought of being that special person to get the prize -- but then Primo paused, realization flickering across his face. “Wait… Do you have a full party?”

Roman froze. “Uh…” He turned and counted his party members. Thomas, Remus, Toph, Casper, Absolem… “Ratasha!” He looked around, concerned.

“She’s over there,” Absolem said, calmly flying toward the crowded lounge area. Ratasha was playing chase with a few other Rattata around the couch, only narrowly avoiding the rat that seemed to be ‘it.’

“That’s six,” Primo noted, his voice sounding a bit apologetic. “I can pull some strings for you and give you this egg I have, but I’m afraid it would register on your trainer id as a Pokemon even in its unhatched state.” Roman nodded, understanding the issue; each trainer id had a tracking feature built into it that would keep track of the number of Pokemon in one’s possession; having too many on one’s person could result in a fine. Pokemon recently caught could be sent to a Pokemon Center via the ‘Pokemon Transport System’ (PTS), which were little poles that could be found on most every route and sent the Pokeballs through a tube underground to the Pokemon Center’s storage system. “If you wish, you can take a Pokemon off your team and I will keep the egg safe for you when you return. I will be here for another hour or two before I make the journey back to my hotel.”

Roman smiled. “Of course. Thank you so much for your offer. I will have to… deliberate over my choice.” Roman shook hands with him and bid him a good day, then gathered his team before approaching the PC with far too much internal dread.

“Here’s the deal,” Roman said with a deep sigh. “I’m going to have to put someone in the PC to make room for an egg.”

“Why do you need an egg?” Remus questioned. “Didn’t you have one before?”

Roman looked baffled by the question. “Well… I surely wouldn’t want to hold an egg that belongs to Professor Elm -- imagine if I had broken it, or if it had hatched with me! But this…” Roman frowned. “Now that I’m not a regular boy anymore, but a trainer, I  _ need  _ to take risks to develop my team as much as possible. Any chance at adding to our ranks should be taken.”

“I agree,” Thomas said, nodding sagely. “But who?”

“I think we all know who,” Remus replied. Everyone turned their heads at once, their eyes falling upon Ratasha.

Roman frowned. He really didn’t know why -- it wasn’t like he was sending her away forever, just into the PC box until the day he decided to take her back out -- but he felt a pang of grief in his chest, like he were abandoning a child out in the street. But their team needed an open slot, and Ratasha was… well… not pulling her own weight. They didn’t need two Rattata on their team in the first place, and Ratasha was not born to be a fighter.

That didn’t help ease the aching in his heart when he knelt down and she immediately scurried over to nuzzle his hand.

“Ratasha,” Roman spoke, and she looked up at him with bright, curious eyes. He wondered if she had learned her name by now, or if something in his tone had just intrigued her. It didn’t matter; this wasn’t a choice he felt was his to make. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but I’m going to have to leave you in the PC for a while. I don’t know how long.” Roman didn’t want to think about that part -- the possibility that he might never use her again. He reached down and picked her up, rising to his feet as he did so. Her eyes never left his, and she seemed to be listening, but he couldn’t tell if she understood a word he was saying. “But you’re going to be safe,” he promised, his throat closing up. He hated how emotional this felt. “You’re going to be safe, and I hope you’ll be happy, and I’ll check in with you sometime for sure. Alright?”

Ratasha didn’t react, seemingly expecting him to do something more. He sighed, placing her back on the ground, where Thomas pulled her into a hug. She squeaked in surprise, then happily accepted the attention. “Goodbye, Ratasha,” he said sadly. She looked confused when he let go, staring at his expression for a while.

“Goodbye, Ratasha,” Absolem said next, patting her on the head with his tiny hands. She looked up at him for a moment, then stood on her two back legs as if trying to reach him, which only caused her to fall backwards.

“Goodbye for now,” Casper said with a smile, trying to balance out the solemn mood the other Pokemon were creating. Ratasha seemed to be understanding the pattern now, as her eyes shifted to Toph after looking at him.

“B-Bye,” Toph squeaked out, waving. Ratasha’s tail swayed back and forth in response.

She then turned to Remus, waiting for his turn. He rolled his eyes. “She can’t even understand what we’re saying. What’s the point?”

“You can still understand body language and tone,” Absolem replied.

Remus sighed, meeting Ratasha’s confused, innocent stare. “Bye, kid. We’ll probably meet again in the box one day, if I’m still alive.”

“Remus!” Thomas complained.

Roman smiled sadly, kneeling down beside Ratasha with her pokeball on the floor. She crawled over to it, as if she knew it was meant for her, then looked back up at Roman’s expression of sorrow. He opened his arms and she crawled into them. He held her close to his chest, wrapping her up in all the warmth and love he could give, before reaching down and picking up her pokeball. She crawled up his chest to lick his cheek, and then he had pressed the button, and she vanished into her pokeball.

Roman felt his eyes begin to water and he wiped them with his sleeve, pulling himself to his feet and over to the PC line. The rest of his team, thankfully, decided to be quiet and give him some time to process his emotions.

* * *

He sent Ratasha to the box, and as he did so, he was met with a brief video (thankfully with subtitles, since he couldn’t hear a thing in that building) by a man named Bill explaining how the PC worked. Apparently, Ratasha would be converted into computer data stored in the system. Roman had two options -- the default was that his Pokemon would remain, in a way, frozen in time while in the PC, so that when they came out, they would think that no time had passed at all. The second option, which required an extra cost and a signature, meant that Ratasha would be sent to an available licensed daycare facility, where she would live out that time with other Pokemon, receiving the utmost love and care, until the day Roman needed her back.

Roman ended up deciding the latter. Who knew how different things would be when he returned? He didn’t want her to miss out on life while he was out having adventures. Maybe someone would be able to take care of her better than he could at the present. He’d rather spend the cost of three Potions and an Antidote to give her the love and attention she needed, rather than stunt her growth by leaving her as data that could be corrupted.

Walking away from that PC, he felt like a monster. If not for Absolem’s weight on his back, the comfort of his wings curling around his shoulders, and Thomas’s empathetic smile, he might not have felt deserving enough of a reward to even go back to Primo for the egg. But he did, because otherwise, what was the point of putting Ratasha in the PC?

Deep down, he knew, he would never use her again. Not unless the unthinkable happened to the rest of his team.

As he received the egg from Primo, holding it carefully in his arms the way he’d gotten used to holding Absolem as a Metapod, Casper and Toph hovered on either side of him, watching the egg curiously. “I wonder what it’ll look like when it hatches,” Casper said.

“Do you want to know?” Primo asked.

Roman blinked.  _ ‘That was an option?’ _ “Uh…” He paused to think it through. “Actually, I’d like to leave it as a mystery. Something to look forward to.”

“I like your thinking!” Primo grinned. “Enjoy! And take care, my friends. The road ahead is full of challenges. I hope I see you at the Pokeathlon!”

Roman pointed at him as he walked backwards, grinning. “And I hope I win against you at the Pokeathlon!”

Primo laughed uproariously. “We’ll see about that!”

“We certainly will,” Roman murmured, exchanging smiles with Thomas as they headed out of the Pokemon Center and into the next route for training, the Violet City gym calling their name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Aaaaaaand, not even a chapter after we got our first full team, we lose our third member to the PC. It wasn't a difficult choice to make at the time, really, but I did get attached to the character of Ratasha as I was writing this, so I felt it was only right to give her a special farewell. I'm kinda glad that I didn't use her much in my playthrough, because had I done so, she almost certainly would have died as a sacrificial lamb or due to a poor miscalculation on my part, and writing that would be heartbreaking for me personally.
> 
> I am considering doing a special "PC Adventures" series along with this to give stories to those who have been boxed on our journey, partially because I don't want to let Ratasha go, and partially because it gives me more time for characterization. It hasn't been started yet and I'm not sure if it will come out in this story or in a separate one in this Nuzlocke series, so if you have a preference, let me know.
> 
> Oh -- and Absolem evolved! I'm pretty sure it actually happened before I got to Violet City, but I didn't take very good notes so I didn't realize that until I already wrote up to when we enter the city. I don't think that sort of mistake happens again though, so it's alright. I love Butterfree :) It's such a good and underrated Pokemon.
> 
> We also almost lost Toph. What a scare that was. DX First 1 hp with Remus, now 2 hp with Toph. Roman probably shouldn't be sending Pokemon with weak types out into battle, but Toph *is* about at Thomas's level now, compared to lv 3 Bellsprout... Regardless, we have not lost a party member yet, so we can forgive those mistakes.
> 
> Curious about what Pokemon is in the egg? There are three possible options...
> 
> Next time, we'll finally take our first steps into the Violet City gym. Will it be a victory or a crushing defeat? Will we lose any teammates so early into this run? Find out, next time, on Dragon Ba-- oh wait, wrong series.}


	9. Chapter 3.3 - Falkner's Gym

Standing in front of the Violet City gym, Roman took one last surveying glance at his team. Thomas looked as eager as always. Casper looked distracted by the intensity of Toph’s shaking. Absolem also looked rather nervous, clinging tightly to Roman’s backpack with his wings folding over Roman’s shoulder, like he was trying to curl in on himself. Roman supposed it made sense; this  _ was  _ a flying-type gym, after all. Remus looked impatient more than anything else, and when he caught Roman looking at him, he asked, “What?”

Roman turned away from him and toward his Geodude, giving her a supportive smile. “Toph, are you ready to take on the gym?!”

“No,” she squeaked, hiding her face with her hands.

“Come on, you’ve got this in the bag! You remember the first fight you had against the bug trainer, right? You’ll do amazing!”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you afraid of pain?” Casper asked gently. “You haven’t fought a flying-type before, but rest assured, they won’t be able to harm you. Your moves will be far more effective than theirs.”

“Just watch -- you’ll face one and then you’ll realize this is going to be a piece of cake!” Roman exclaimed.

“I believe in you,” Thomas said earnestly. “You’ll do great, Toph.”

“But… if I fail…?”

“Then we’ll throw Thomas in and get you all healed up!” Roman replied. “And if you’re up to it, then you can try again, but we won’t force you to. But I’m certain we won’t even have to worry about that.”

_ ‘I don’t want to disappoint you…’ _

“The clock is ticking,” Remus reminded them. They needed to hurry before other challengers stood between them and the leader.

“O-Okay,” Toph said finally. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask,” Roman said with a proud smile. He pushed open the doors and his team hurried in before they could close.

The gym’s walls were dark and the room actually seemed rather empty. There was a single man at the entrance, next to a signpost that contained a list of the trainers who had defeated the gym leader already and were still facing the gym challenge. Roman noted how a few names were crossed off the list in red marker.

Absolem let go of his back and hovered in the air in front of the list, flapping his wings to keep himself stable. “Virgil’s already been here,” he noted.

“What?!” Roman double-checked the list. Sure enough, Virgil’s name was near the bottom of the list, squeezed between a “Rose” and a “Morty.” Roman grimaced. “Well, that means we’ll need to speed it up!”

The man beside the signpost was holding a notebook and a pen. “And your name is…?”

“Roman,” he replied.

“Trainer ID?”

“62679.”

“Town of origin?”

“New Bark Town.”

“And, your primary Pokemon?”

Roman gave him an odd look. “What does that mean?”

“Your primary Pokemon is either your starter Pokemon or your most preferred. It is one of the ways we identify a trainer when the results of the gym challenge are placed in the paper.” The man paused. “It does not have to be used in your battle, but we simply record it for identification purposes. And you may change it at any point.”

“Oh.” Roman looked down at Thomas. “Then mine is Thomas, my Cyndaquil.”

The man jotted it down, then closed his notebook and nodded toward the platform further in the room. “Please stand on the platform when you are ready to take on the gym challenge. Have all of your Pokemon stand with you.”

Roman exchanged glances with his team as they headed toward the large rectangular platform. Remus and Thomas crawled onto it beside him, while Casper, Absolem, and Toph hovered in the air around them. Roman glanced back at the man by the entrance, who was now turned around and speaking to a girl who had just entered the building moments after him. She was squeezing a Marill and looked on edge as she glanced around the dark and empty room.

“Hey, what’s this?” Thomas asked curiously.

Remus hissed. “Don’t--”

But it was too late; Roman had only just looked down in time to see Thomas hop onto a button on the center of the platform. Suddenly, the platform beneath them shot upwards at such a speed that Roman lost his balance and fell down. It took his brain a moment to catch up with reality, to realize that the platform was actually an elevator.

Remus nearly rolled off the platform, and would have, if not for Toph latching onto him at the last second. All of their fliers, not expecting the sudden movement of the platform, crashed against the platform as it skyrocketed -- all except Casper, who vanished as the platform moved through his ghostly body.

When the platform finally stopped moving, they were level with a suspended wooden path shaped like an S. There were two trainers waiting along the path, at the end of which was a large stable platform where the gym leader, Falkner, stood observing. Glass tiles were also suspended in the air in a rectangle around them.

“Whoa.” Thomas blinked, then flashed Remus a grin. “That was fun!”

“That was idiotic,” Remus said shakily, moving away from the edge. “Why couldn’t we have just taken the stairs.”

“Whine, whine, whine,” Roman mumbled.

Casper floated through the bottom of the elevator, making Absolem jump with his sudden entrance. “I’m afraid I missed the ride. That’s too bad.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Remus replied.

“Are you alright?” Toph asked worriedly.

“Peachy.”

“Toph!”

Toph straightened immediately. “Yes, sir!” she exclaimed, tense.

Roman pointed at the first gym trainer, who was tossing his Pokeball up in the air and catching it without even looking. His confident smirk was irking Roman, especially with how the boy’s eyes seemed to be training on Roman as he awkwardly balanced himself on the narrow path, feeling the urge to look down at the distance between him and the ground. The boy’s smirk seemed to widen as Roman raised his arms out at his sides as he reached an intersection of wooden beams.

“Yeah, I’m staying here,” Remus said decidedly, planting himself on the elevator. Thomas looked conflicted between staying on the elevator platform and following Roman.

“Fine; we only need Toph, anyway,” Roman retorted. “You ready, Toph?” he asked, as his rock-type Pokemon shakily floated forward. The flying-type trainer suddenly paled, and Toph watched in confusion as his hand began to tremble as it reached for his belt.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Roman smirked. “They’re scared of you, Toph.”

She looked back and forth between him and their opponent. “M-Me?!”

“Well, we’ll try our best anyway!” the trainer yelled, as he stood in a baseball stance and readied himself to pitch the ball. “Go, Spearow!” He tossed the ball and a Spearow burst out, flapping its wings with a courageous cry. It looked toward its owner, who hesitantly pointed at Toph. The moment the Spearow’s eyes fell on its opponent, all the courage in its eyes transformed into fear.

_ ‘They… they  _ fear  _ me,’  _ Toph thought to herself, still in shock at the idea of it.

* * *

_ He knows. I’m surrounded by Monty’s crew again, and he knows. _

_ I can’t sneak past, can’t hide, can’t run -- Almost can’t breathe. I hear his chuckles as he tells them my once-deepest secret. _

_ “Keenan says he wants to be a girl.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “What does that even mean?” _

_ “I-I  _ am  _ a girl,” I whispered, hearing the defensive shiver in my tone. _

_ “Last I remembered, you weren’t.” _

_ The same hateful tone as my brother, the same skeptical words. _

_ “I-It’s a mistake,” I said, because it was. I knew who I was. _

_ “He said to call him  _ Kasen _.” _

_ “Sure acts like a girl, all right.” _

_ “Bet it’s just some half-assed attempt for him to get off easy.” _

_ “What a freak.” _

_ But they were wrong. It had nothing to do with them, no matter how much their fists frightened me -- it was just about  _ me _. Yes, I was weak, timid, afraid -- but that had nothing to do with my gender, that was just another part of me, another of the many parts that made up me, like the chunks of rock that form my physical being. I can feel who I am. _

_ “... she…” _

_ “What’s that?” _

_ “I-I’m a  _ she _.” _

_ That was the last thing I said before their fists approached and everything went numb with fear. _

* * *

_ ‘I…  _ I’m  _ the scary one?’ _ she thought, staring at the Spearow’s wide eyes as they flickered around the room, as if trying to come up with some sort of escape. She felt a deep sympathy well up inside of her as she looked at those eyes, those eyes that knew how she had felt for many long years.

“Spearow, use Tackle!” the opposing trainer cried, and suddenly that sympathy was drowned out by the adrenaline that only a Pokemon battle could bring. Toph wasn’t as quick as the little bird, and she felt a thunk against her body as the bird slammed into her. It must have used up a lot of force, and Toph felt her body recoil backwards, but she hardly felt any pain whatsoever. The Spearow seemed to have caused more pain to itself.

“Alright, Toph, use Rock Throw before it can get away!” Roman exclaimed. The Spearow’s eyes widened and it began flapping its wings to push itself backwards. Toph realized in that moment how easy it was, in the heat of battle, to forget one’s humanity. She was following his orders without a second thought; she didn’t even remember forming or throwing the rocks before they were lying on top of the Spearow’s broken wing as it lay unconscious on the ground.

“Great job, Toph!” Roman cheered, as the trainer recalled his Spearow into his Pokeball.

“You did it!”

Absolem nodded. “Nice job.”

“How does it feel?” Casper asked. Toph felt her mind catch up with her body and her heart rate slowly returned to its normal pace.

“Um… good?” She wasn’t quite sure herself. She was just glad the Spearow was still breathing.

Remus scoffed. “Very detailed.”

“I didn’t even get hurt,” she realized.

“You’re very strong, Toph,” Absolem said gently. Toph smiled bashfully downward, her confidence boosted immensely.

“You passed,” the boy said with a heavy sigh, as he began walking along the beam toward where Roman and his team stood. Roman noticed how completely at ease this boy was at such a height. “Get your Pokemon off the lift unless you want them coming with me.”

Roman waved an arm. “Remus, Thomas, get over here.”

“No way,” Remus hissed.

“Come on, I’m sure they have  _ something  _ in place in case we fall...” Thomas tried to sound reassuring but his voice lacked certainty.

“Yeah -- the  _ floor _ .”

“They won’t let you fall. But if you do, you don’t have the right to challenge the gym,” the trainer explained.

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Roman returned Remus to his Pokeball, the rat gladly returning to its safe space. Thomas carefully stepped onto the beam and moved close to his trainer, while Absolem and Toph floated beside them.

“Lean on us if you need to,” Absolem said.

Casper smiled sheepishly. “I’d offer the same, but, it probably wouldn’t work out well for you.”

“Let’s go, Toph!” Roman pointed onward. “Trainer number two!”

The boy who stood between them and the gym leader couldn’t have been more than twelve, a boy with long, shaggy black hair with the tips dyed red. He had a set of unfazed gray eyes and an unchanging serious expression that unsettled Roman enough to clench Remus’s Pokeball, nearly sending him out on accident.

“Let me, let me!” Thomas pleaded.

“No.” Roman gave his starter a look. “Remember, this is Toph’s turn to shine.”

“Your rock type is an excellent strategy. Typing isn’t something we prepare for so early on in the Gym Challenge,” the boy spoke up, his tone nearly nonexistent. “But remember that type alone won’t save you when you’re in the big leagues. You’re going to need more than that.”

“It’s enough to defeat you,” Roman replied. “Send out your Pokemon!”

The trainer threw out both of his pokeballs, releasing two Pidgey. One of them sat perched on his shoulder while the other faced Toph with dread in its eyes.

“Toph?” Roman smirked as his arm shot forward, dramatically pointing at the Pidgey, as if he were Phoenix Wright. “Rock Throw!”

Not even ten seconds later, both Pidgeys were knocked out. The trainer didn’t look surprised as he recalled his Pokemon into their balls. Roman strutted past him proudly, ignoring the dagger-like glare sent his way, and moved from the beams to the stable platform in the back of the gym where the gym leader, Falkner, awaited them.

“You ready, Toph? Here’s the final battle.”

Toph nodded, surprised to find that she wasn’t shaking. Not anymore. “Yeah. I am.”

Thomas tapped Roman’s kneecap. “Hey, I want a good view. Let me up?” Roman smiled and lifted his starter up onto his shoulder.

“Not as good a view as I’ve got up here,” Casper chuckled, gliding upwards. “I’ll watch Toph crush these birds from a bird’s eye view!”

Roman frowned. “Was that supposed to be funny?”

“Welcome, trainer.” Roman jumped to attention; Falkner was addressing him. The boy had a serious look in his eyes, but it was hard to take him seriously with his blue emo haircut and his baggy blue clothes, which looked to be two sizes too big for him. Roman had been expecting someone more mature-looking, more menacing… but this kid looked just that -- a  _ kid _ . “I’m Falkner, the Violet City Pokemon Gym Leader!” Falkner extended a hand, and Roman shook it.

“I’m Roman.”

“Bird Pokemon are not to be underestimated,” Falkner said solemnly. “People have come here joking about their many weaknesses… how you can clip their wings with a jolt of electricity… how you can just smash their wings with rocks… how ice shards can freeze them mid-air. Well, I won’t allow such insults to bird Pokemon!” He struck what looked to Roman like an anime pose. “I’ll show you the real power of the magnificent bird Pokemon!”

“... Right.” Roman glanced over at Toph, who was floating beside him, her face determined. “Toph, it’s all you!”

Falkner’s brows furrowed as he threw his first Pokeball. “Go, Pidgey!”

A lv 9 Pidgey emerged, kicking sand up into the air before Falkner even commanded it -- like it knew that would be its first move. Roman realized the methodical nature that gym leaders took to their gym battle preparations, and wondered if he might be underprepared.

But then Toph looked at him, and he couldn’t allow himself to doubt. If he lost confidence in himself, what would that do to Toph’s?

“Use Rock Throw, Toph!” Roman exclaimed. If her accuracy was hindered any more, he wouldn’t want to risk that move, but he had to take at least one chance.

The Pidgey’s move did little to affect Toph’s aim, and the single rock hitting the Pidgey’s skull was enough for it to faint. Roman and Thomas whooped for Toph as Falkner returned his Pidgey and tossed out his second Pokeball. Roman’s eyes widened as a much larger bird appeared -- a Pidgeotto at lv 13. He could tell the Pokemon had more experience than he had from the calm, comfortable look in its eyes as it examined the field.

“Pidgeotto, use Gust!” Falkner cried. The bird Pokemon obeyed, flapping its wings until a mini tornado picked up Toph and sent her flying through the air. It hardly did a thing; she fell into a pillar, but it didn’t even scratch up her rocky exterior.

Roman smirked. “Toph, Rock Throw!”

Toph used her signature move again, once more striking the enemy bird and taking it down to the floor. However, the battle wasn’t called just yet; Pidgeotto curled its wings around its body and a faint white light emanated from its body.

“What is it doing?” Thomas asked curiously.

“It’s using Roost,” Falkner explained. “Roost is a flying-type move that heals one’s HP up to half of its maximum HP.”

“So it can only heal that much, huh?” Roman pointed at the creature. “Toph, keep using Rock Throw! It can only heal so much before we take it down!”

Toph prepared to launch a succession of large rocks at the enemy Pidgeotto, but it turned out only two of them were needed. The Pidgeotto was soon out cold, and though Roman half-expected another Pokemon opponent, Falkner was walking across the field to him with a disc in his hand, his other hand fumbling in his pocket for something.

“My dad’s cherished bird Pokemon…” he mumbled as he approached Roman.

“It’s not  _ your  _ Pokemon?” Roman asked without thinking. Falkner shot him a dirty look.

“Pidgey is my Pokemon; Pidgeotto is, I guess you could call it, the Gym’s protector. He’s been dad’s Pokemon when he was the leader and he’s been passed down to me. But that’s none of your concern.” Falkner took his hand out of his pocket, revealing a small silver badge that looked shaped roughly like a magnet, but with a point on its closed end. “Here; this is an official Pokemon League badge, the Zephyr badge. With it, Pokemon, including traded Pokemon up to Lv. 20, will obey you without question. It also lets you use the hidden move Rock Smash anytime outside of battle. And here…” Falkner handed him the disc. Roman held it with two hands, sticking it up to his eye for a better look. “This is a TM, which lets a Pokemon instantly learn a new move. They can only be used once, unlike HMs. This one is Roost. I’m sure it will come in handy one day.”

_ ‘Yeah, without a flying type, I doubt it,’ _ Roman thought to himself. Then he paused, reconsidering it. Would Absolem be able to learn that move…?

“You’re continuing on to the other Gyms, right?”

“Oh! Yes, we are.”

“Then I would suggest Azalea Town; it’s south from here, through Union Cave. That’ll take you to Bugsy, and then you can go through the Ilex Forest to Goldenrod to face Whitney.” Falkner sighed, glancing at his watch. “I need to go heal my Pokemon for the next challenge. Congratulations. You can leave the way you came.” With that, Falkner walked off toward a secret door hidden on the wall, and disappeared inside.

“Well, he certainly wasn’t pleasant. But…” Roman smiled at Toph. “You single-handedly took down that gym!”

“Good job,” Absolem said calmly.

“Congratulations!” Thomas cheered.

“It  _ does  _ feel good to win battles,” Toph said shyly, hiding her smile.

“And now we have even more experience and freedom than before!” Roman walked carefully around the small s-shaped pathway to the elevator platform. Thomas dove from his shoulder to the center button, and then Roman found himself thrown off balance and onto his butt as the floor dropped to be ground-level.

His Pokemon recovered quickly, but after that fall? He needed to sit down for a while; his body was  _ aching _ .

“What time is it?” he asked aloud, groaning as he rubbed his bottom.

“Quarter after 5,” the man at the entrance replied. The girl with the Marill from earlier was standing there, tapping her foot impatiently. She had a fierce look in her amber eyes now.

“Are you going to move?” she demanded. This gym closes at 6.”

Roman flinched. “Oh, yes, I-I’m sorry!” He hopped to his feet, picking up Thomas and carrying him from the platform, while the fliers and floaters on his team followed him toward the entrance. “Please, go on ahead.”

The girl flipped her hair, declared, “Let’s go, Bailee,” and then the two of them were standing side-by-side on the lift. Roman coudn’t help but feel amused when the platform shot upward and her proud expression became one of shock as her legs buckled underneath her.

“She’s scary,” Thomas said nervously.

“And that’s the last trainer who signed up for today.” The man smiled at them. “Roman and Thomas, was it? Before you head on to the next town, I’d suggest spending the night. There will be a fireworks display outside the gym tonight, in celebration of the 50th birthday of Falkner’s father.”

“We have to stay! We have to watch it!” Thomas exclaimed eagerly.

“Alright, alright, I already promised we would.”

Roman shook the man’s hand and took one more glance at the long list of Gym Challengers, pleased to find himself at the bottom of the list, only a few names away from Virgil. Soon, he would catch up, and he’d prove exactly who was the better trainer.

* * *

As soon as Roman stepped outside, he heard a familiar ring on his Pokegear. It had been a while since he’d needed to use it, so it took him a few moments to grab it from inside his bag. He was intrigued to find Professor Elm’s name once again listed as the caller, and answered it immediately.

“Hello, Professor?”

“Roman!” Professor Elm’s voice was quite cheerful. “We’ve discovered something! The details are… well, I can’t really say anything, but we want you to carry that egg!”

“Wh-What? You do?” Roman suddenly felt nervous about once again being responsible for such an important piece of research. But that feeling was quick to fade away -- after all, he was far more experienced now than before! Surely it wouldn’t be too much to handle. He was proud to have been chosen for such a special task.

“My assistant is at the Pokemart in Violet City. I assume you’re still in the area. Could you go meet him and pick up that egg?”

“S-Sure, no problem.” Except it was a problem, because an egg meant a new teammate, and that meant he had to take someone out of his party. He felt Casper’s curious eyes on him.

“That’ll be all, my boy! Thanks for your cooperation! Now, don’t be too long; I have my assistant doing another chore for me and I need him back by the morning!” Professor Elm chuckled as he hung up.

Roman sweat-dropped. “That man’s just wanting his donuts.”

“What was that call about, Roman?” Thomas asked, and he realized that none of his teammates had heard the voice on the other end of the call.

“Well…” Roman sighed. “We have to stop at the Pokemon Center and make an important team decision… Because Elm has another egg for us to carry.”

“Another egg?” Thomas looked intrigued, whereas Absolem and Toph exchanged uncomfortable looks.

“You’re out of room in your party,” Casper noted, nodding slowly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“To make room for the egg, I have to put one of you in the PC.”

“I’ll do it.”

Roman blinked. “What?”

“Your team has a nice dynamic right now that I wouldn’t want to mess with,” Casper replied. “I’ll gladly wait with the little rat for a time when you might need me… As long as you promise to send me where she is. I don’t like the idea of being frozen in time or being alone, you know? Being a ghost, it gets lonely enough as it is.”

“Casper… you don’t have to,” Absolem said softly.

“No, but I think it’d be for the best. I think I can help you out better from there.”

“You’re sure?” Roman confirmed.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Just take care of those eggs for me, alright? I want to see what they’re like when they’re hatched and grown.”

Roman smiled. “Of course.” He lifted his Pokeball. “Thank you, Casper. You truly are a friendly ghost.”

“I try,” he said, laughing good-heartedly.

“Take care, Casper,” Absolem said.

“T-Take care.”

“We’ll see you later!” Thomas promised.

“Tell your rat friend to loosen up for me, will ya? We only live once.” Casper chuckled, then gave Roman a look that said, ‘go ahead,’ and Roman returned him to his Pokeball.

“We certainly do…”

* * *

After sending Casper into the PC to live with Ratasha for the time being, Roman went to the Pokemart. He picked up the egg, also finding, to his pleasant surprise, that his mother had bought him a Super Potion and had it delivered there for him.

“Your mom is nice!” Thomas chirped as they walked from the Pokemart to the bridge between the rest of the city and Sprout Tower. He was waddling on his back two feet, cupping a container of Dibs ice cream bites.

“Yeah, she is,” Roman smiled. He was holding Elm’s egg in his arms, while Toph, who floated beside him, held the egg they’d gotten from Primo.

Remus scoffed. “Elm sure isn’t, though. He can’t bother to walk around town with an egg? Has to pass it along to a kid?”

“All he wants to do is sit around and eat Violet City donuts,” Roman replied.

“Honestly, though, that sounds like a pretty nice life,” Absolem said.

“Nah, I need more adventure in mine.”

“Here, here!”

“Tommy, if you drop that ice cream--”

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, geez.”

Roman sighed as they took their spot on the bridge. The fireworks weren’t for another three hours, but people were already claiming their spots. It was to be expected with such a huge city; waiting only meant a worse view. And though Thomas and Toph looked uncomfortable sitting so close to the water, Roman knew it would give them the best view. They deserved no less for their hard efforts.

“Tomorrow, we should move on toward the second gym,” he decided. His team’s responses varied, as he expected.

“I agree! I want to fight next time!”

Toph nodded. “Okay.”

“We can’t stay a little longer?” Absolem asked. “It’s nice here…”

“The city  _ does  _ have good food,” Remus mused. “Free, too, if you know where to look.”

“Nuh-uh, we’ve gotta move onwards.” Roman pointed back in the direction of the next route. “Virgil’s already got his badge and I bet you he’s heading for Azalea Town, too. We can’t afford to stay here for too long.”

Remus shrugged. “As long as you pack plenty of food so we don’t starve in that cave.”

“We won’t  _ starve _ . And we can always come back,” Roman pointed out.

“What’s the typing of the next gym again?” Toph asked.

“Bug, I believe.” Roman surveyed his team. “Which means Toph and Thomas will probably be the two I rely on for that.”

“Okay,” Toph said, nodding. “Rock is good against bug, right? I can handle that.”

“That’s exactly what I want to hear! Confidence!” Roman raised his hand. It took Toph a few seconds to realize he was going for a high-five.

“Roman?” Thomas tugged on his pant leg. Roman paused, noticing the frown and distant look in his starter’s eyes. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course.” Roman genty pulled Absolem off his back and placed her on the ground. He then moved toward the Pokemon Tower. “The rest of you, wait here and save our spot.” He ignored Remus’s dissecting stare and waited for Thomas to catch up before continuing.

They walked in silence to the other end of the bridge before Thomas let out a sigh. Roman’s frown deepened; he didn’t like seeing his starter look so down. “What’s up?”

“I… I really wanted to fight in that gym,” he said.

“I know you did.”

“I was  _ made  _ for gym battling. It’s what I was born to do. And -- and --” Thomas clenched his fists. “I don’t want you to let Toph do it! I want to take on the second gym myself! I’m the one who’s supposed to!”

Roman knelt down beside his starter with a tired sigh. “Thomas, I’m glad that you want to fight. I’m glad that you’re my starter because you have the same enthusiasm and desire for the top as I do.”

“... But…?”

“But we have to balance out our team. I don’t want you to have to do all the heavy-lifting.”

“But I want to!” Thomas protested.

“I know you do. And I’m not saying you  _ can’t _ , I’m saying I don’t want you to  _ have  _ to. There’s a difference.” Roman smiled. “I know it bums you out that you didn’t get to do anything this time. But if something ever happened to you, you need to feel like you can trust those around you to have your back. You can’t be the only strong one here. The others need to be able to protect you, too.”

Thomas considered his words. “I want to be the best,” he finally said.

“I know.” Roman grinned. “And we’ll get you there. But that doesn’t mean the others are just along for the ride. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. And when you face yours, you want to be able to count on them the way they depend on you.”

Thomas nodded. “I understand.” He smiled anxiously. “But Toph is the same level as me now, and that kinda makes me nervous.”

“Don’t you trust her?”

“Oh -- I do!” Thomas quickly back-tracked. “I really do. It’s just… I’m supposed to be better. I’m the leader; what kind of a leader isn’t strong enough to protect them all? A leader shouldn’t need protecting by their team.”

“I think your team would disagree.” Roman smiled. “Let’s go back to them. I’m sure Remus will be upset if the ice cream melts.”

Thomas flinched as he looked down at the container in his hands. “Oh no, you’re right!” He turned and started running back over the bridge. “Remus, I’m coming!!!” he shouted.

Roman laughed as he slowly followed his starter back to the rest of the group. When he arrived, Thomas and Remus already had the ice cream open and were splitting the small bites between the cup and the top of the lid, which was lying on the ground between them. Absolem fluttered behind Roman, clinging on his backpack once again.

“I wonder what will be in the eggs when they hatch,” Absolem murmured, his wings once again wrapped around Roman’s shoulders. Roman was starting to find it kind of cute.

“Me too…” Roman stared down at the eggs in his and Toph’s arms. Only time would tell who they’d become, or what the team would be like by then… But he couldn’t wait to find out.

* * *

Thomas’s eyes were alight as he stared in awe at the fireworks bursting in the sky. He tugged on Remus’s leg, pointing up at one of the fireworks that broke off into half a dozen green sparks. Remus pulled away with an annoyed glare that Thomas never saw, too engrossed in the scene before him.

“This is nice,” Absolem said, his voice a soft sort of purr. He glanced to the side, doing a double-take when he noticed Toph covering her eyes and flinching whenever the fireworks burst. “Toph, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, though the shakiness of her voice and body betrayed her.

Absolem glided over and gently tapped Toph’s hands. “Hey, you’re going to miss it.”

“I don’t need to see it.”

“Trust me, you’ll want to. Don’t worry, I’m right here.” Absolem gently prodded at Toph’s hands until she hesitantly pulled them just an inch outward. Absolem hovered over Toph, then dropped down on her head, the contact grounding them both. Toph peeked upward hesitantly, flinching again as the loud noise burst through the air. She squeezed her eyes shut, but just a fraction of a second too late, allowing the shine of three different colors to reach her before her vision went dark.

She quickly opened her eyes, but the sparks were already far apart, falling to the ground somewhere in the distance. The sound of more fireworks being shot upward made her pulse race. When the fireworks reached a certain point in the sky, they burst into five different blue lights, all of which spread out and dropped to the ground, as other colors took their turn illuminating the sky. Toph watched in fascination, slowly lowering her hands as she became entranced by the sight.

Roman held the two eggs carefully in his arms, trying to get a sense of any movement within, but there was nothing but a strange warmth. Perhaps it just wasn’t their time. But he was certain that the two of them were going to be valuable members of his team; he could feel it.

Roman smiled as he gazed up into the festive color-filled sky, thinking to himself that they were one step closer to achieving his dream.

**Team Status**

**Toph - Lv 13**

**Remus - Lv 11**

**Absolem - Lv 11**

**Thomas - Lv 13**

**Egg**

**Egg**

**~ ~ ~**

**Ratasha - Lv 3 (Box)**

**Casper - Lv 11 (Box)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {This update took far too long to come out; my apologies! I just finished it today, so let me know if I made any mistakes. I did reread it, but usually I take more time away from it before I do a final read/revise and post it.  
> Toph took on Falkner's gym on her own. It was an easy sweep once she learned Rock Throw. The rest of the team leveled up while training in the wild, but they didn't need to be used. Now there's nothing stopping the team from beginning their journey to Azalea Town!
> 
> I also want to mention in advance that there will be no actual romantic relationships happening in this story, at least the way I have it planned out now... *however* there are absolutely characters crushing on one another, which are vague enough that you can ignore if you want. In fact, some of those have already begun.
> 
> I decided that the PC Adventures and the other special are going to be put in separate stories in this series, but they are canon and have character development within them. The other special can just be seen as a silly story and might not be mentioned in this story, but the PC Adventures one is more closely tied with the main story. You can expect the first chapter of the special to be posted within the next week, before C4.1, and PC Adventures will probably come later in December, though it also takes place before C4.1. I'll specify the timeline when they come out. Hope you enjoy!}


	10. Chapter 4.1 - Route 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Soooo, the PC Adventures is taking a while... So I just decided to post this now instead.  
> I'm hoping to have an image to go along with each part of these next two chapters. I'm not an artist but I wanted a visual to go along with all the text. :P I'm going to start trying to learn how to draw using software, and use these small drawings with the chapters to improve myself and work my way up to an eventual animatic at the end of the story, which I hope to post when the final part comes out. Let me know if the image link won't work.  
> Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions! They really help me out.}

_Chapter 4 - We Will Be Heroes_

Roman decided that their next stop had to be the Ruins of Alph. At the crack of dawn, he stepped out into the orange-lit sky and breathed out a sigh as the morning air licked his lungs. Thomas was still rather groggy, but he declined Roman’s offer to carry him on his shoulder -- he claimed he needed the exercise. The little guy was self-motivated, that was for sure.

It was that which made him decide to let out his other Pokemon as they reached the edge of Violet City, just outside the Pokemart. As soon as Absolem was released, he drifted into Roman’s arms and passed out with a noisy snore. Toph was alert in a flash, and was quick to offer to carry one of the two eggs Roman was balancing in his arms along with his Butterfree. Remus shook himself awake just in time to dodge Thomas’s quick attempted glomp.

**_Roman turned his character to face his Rattata and pressed the a button. The little Rattata on the screen had a music note over its head, and the game said, “Remus seems to want to play with Roman!”_ **

**_“Awww!” he exclaimed out loud, causing his twin to raise an eyebrow. “It says Remus wants to play with me!”_ **

**_Remus laughed. “Well, duh. What do you_ ** **think** **_we’re doing, ya dork?”_ **

“So, what’s with the early morning fire nation attack?” Remus asked, looking somewhat annoyed at the Cyndaquil who was now rubbing against his side like a cat, but without the purring.

“To get you moving!” Thomas chirped. “Early morning exercise is the best way to get stronger fast!”

“Or the best way to go mentally insane,” Remus replied. “You do realize humans and Pokemon both need at least 7 hours of sleep a night, on average? And you two are barely pushing 6?”

Roman and Thomas exchanged sheepish grins. “Well,” Roman started. “Absolem sleeps enough for the two of us.”

Remus would have face-palmed, if his paws could reach that far comfortably. “That’s not how it works, and you both know it.”

“To the Ruins of Alph!” Roman cried, ignoring him in favor of raising his Pokeball dramatically at the sky.

“To the ruins!” Thomas cheered just as loud, jumping up in the air.

“Roman, do you think we packed enough?” Toph asked nervously, carefully cradling the egg without the red and blue triangle patterns in her sturdy arms. “We don’t know how long it’ll take to get to the next town…”

“We’ll be fine,” Roman reassured his team. “There’s a Pokemon Center just outside the cave’s entrance if we need it.” He smiled at his anxious Geodude. “We’ll be _fine_. You trust me, right?”

Toph nodded emphatically. She forced the concern off her face, showing pure determination. “I do.” Roman felt a sort of pride blossom in his chest.

* * *

Standing outside the ancient ruins, Roman felt an air of mystery and allure. Some scientists were sitting around on boulders, munching on snacks and reading intently. One had a Pokegear with the radio function turned on, and strange sounds were emanating from the device. One sounded like the distorted cry of a Pokemon.

“I don’t like this,” Remus mumbled.

“You don’t like anything,” Roman replied, approaching the scientist with the Pokegear. He raised his voice. “Excuse me!”

“Shhhh!” The scientist leaned closer to his device, his ear nearly tapping the screen’s surface.

“Rude,” Roman mumbled.

“We shouldn’t interrupt. They look like they’re busy,” Thomas said.

“Well, fine, then. I suppose we should explore by ourselves.” Roman glanced around the barren site. The ground was mere uncovered dirt, the buildings thousands of years old, built from logs of wood and, so he had heard, underground chambers protected by modern roofs built over the ladders leading below the surface. There was one recent-looking building Roman caught sight of with a blue roof, but the building looked less like a public facility and more like a workplace. He felt he should steer clear.

He entered a brick building and the scent of dust and dirt zoomed up his nose. He coughed and looked up, seeing that some sprinkles of dirt were falling down from the roof. It didn’t make the room feel very secure, that was for sure.

The room itself was fairly empty, mostly just the four walls and the roof, except for the presence of a slide puzzle on a small wall in the center of the room. Curiously, Roman moved closer, finding sixteen small pieces that could be put together in different arrangements to make a 4x4 image. Roman stared at it for a while, wondering what the image was supposed to be -- if this was a puzzle with a correct answer, that is.

“Let’s see…” He started shifting some of the pieces, fitting them in a way that appeared symmetrical and still kept the outer border intact. As the final piece slid into place, Roman felt the floor slip out from under him, and he fell through the hole.

Had there not been a padding on the ground right beneath the hole, he would have certainly broken something. He’d fallen at least twelve feet down to what appeared to me a brick-built underground chamber. Roman heard Thomas and Toph’s worried cries from up above. Soon Toph and Absolem glided down with Remus and Thomas on their backs.

“Are you alright?!” Thomas asked worriedly, before jumping down onto the cushiony ground. He lifted and placed his feet down, feeling its softness. “Oh. This is nice.”

Toph floated around the room, taking in their surroundings with a protective gleam in her eyes. “I don’t see anyone here…” She floated back over to Roman, keeping her back to him as he watched the darkness. “I can see best in the dark. I’ll keep watch.”

Roman blinked. “Oh. Okay. Thanks.”

“I can make some light!” Thomas offered, summoning the flame on his back.

Roman glanced at the walls, seeing inscriptions he couldn’t quite read. He wondered what was on them, and was about to approach, when suddenly Toph exclaimed, “Hide!” Toph slammed him down to the ground and curled up in a ball. Roman groaned.

“What’d you do that--?”

“Shhh!” She whispered. “Hide!”

“You do realize I can’t camouflage as well as you, right?”

“What Pokemon is that?” Thomas wondered aloud. Roman raised his head from where he was lying on his stomach and noticed a large, circular eyeball staring at him. The eye had a black outer circle surrounding it, a hook at the bottom, and a small nub at the top, pointed diagonally.

“It’s shaped kind of like a J,” Roman said, pushing himself to his feet curiously. Toph realized no one else was hiding and sheepishly sprang up, zooming in front of Roman.

“Sh-Should I take it out?” she asked.

Roman frowned. “Well, this does count as a new area. Let’s try catching it first!” The wild Pokemon seemed to be just as confused and curious by their presence as they were by its.

Roman threw the Pokeball at it and three clicks later, it was his. Roman waited for his Pokedex to update with the Pokemon’s information and name.

“Unown?” Roman raised an eyebrow. “That’s not fishy at all.”

“Something’s weird about it,” Absolem said. “Kind of like Casper…”

“Psh. A lot weirder than Casper.”

“Roman, what are you gonna name it?”

Roman pondered the question, staring at the image on his Pokedex, and how similar it looked to the letter J. Could it be coincidence? Was there some meaning to it? He wasn’t sure. He had a feeling the scientists studying in the ruins were still trying to figure that out.

“... Jericho,” he decided. “I’ll leave Jericho in the PC for now. I’m not sure how useful a Pokemon with just one move can be.” He put the Pokedex back in his bag and rubbed the egg a little, trying to see if it felt closer to hatching. He had a feeling it would happen when he least expected it.

“I don’t like this place,” Thomas murmured, shivering. Roman glanced down at him, concerned. Thomas had never seemed cold before; Roman had assumed he was able to regulate his body heat better than most Pokemon, due to him being a fire-type.

But then a chill ran through him as well, and he understood. There was something different about this place -- something unsettling. His body seemed to be screaming for him to go. It was like when he met Casper, except much more menacing. The hairs on his arms rose, and he rubbed his one arm carefully to bring it some warmth, making sure not to lose his grip on the egg.

Absolem stared at one of the pillars, seemingly fascinated by the ancient scrawling -- but Roman could tell from his trembling that he, too, wanted to leave. “Hey, Roman,” he hummed. “Don’t these look like Jericho, except shaped for different letters?”

Roman stepped over Remus’s tail and walked over to the pillar, squinting at the writing in the darkness. He lifted Thomas up, allowing the fire on his back to light up the pillar. “I… suppose they do,” he realized. “Except… even if I translate it to the closest alphabetical letter, it doesn’t look like it makes sense in any language I know…”

“Old English, perhaps...?”

“Hey, are we done here?” Remus asked, glancing back and forth. The fur on his body, particularly around his spine, was sticking up, and his eyes were darting around the room.

“Yeah, I-I don’t like this place,” Toph agreed, looking more than a little scared.

“Oh, come on, you don’t like the darkness?” Roman asked.

“N-No, I’m fine with the darkness. I lived most of my life in a cave,” Toph reminded him, as she held the egg closer to her chest, and stood back-to-back with Remus. “But… this place… I don’t like it.”

Roman sighed. “Well, I don’t see a reason for us to stay much longer.” He sat his starter Pokemon back down. “Light our way, Thomas.” Nodding, his Cyndaquil scurried forward toward the exit, Remus and Toph following close behind. Absolem stayed back with Roman, in much less of a rush than the others. This time, he flew of his own accord, rather than clinging on to Roman or dropping into his arms to be carried.

“You don’t get scared easily, do you, Absolem?” Roman noted.

“Oh, I do,” the Butterfree replied, as he flapped his wings beside him. “I just don’t have the typical fight-or-flight response as the others. … Or hide, in Toph’s case; that’s not too uncommon with those that can camouflage.” He paused. “... Or freeze. As catchy as the term fight-or-flight is, it doesn’t cover all the bases.”

Roman gave him an uneasy look. “How did you survive this long without a survival mode? With the way you sleep.”

Absolem smiled sadly. “I had a friend to look out for me.”

* * *

_I heard a rustling in the grass, and thought to myself, ‘Well, my time’s up. Guess I was right; it was a worthless life after all.’ I was expecting a bird Pokemon to appear, but instead, a furry head popped out from between the tall grass blades, and two warm brown eyes fell upon my helpless figure. I curled up further into a ball and waited for the moment of attack._

_“Hey, little Caterpie.” The Sentret gave me a little smile. “You’ve gotta look out for yourself. I know you can do better than this.”_

_“There’s no point,” I replied, hoping the drowsiness would sweep me away before I was forced to continue the conversation. If he killed me… well, then at least I wouldn’t be conscious for it._

_“Of course there is. You might just be a Caterpie, but you can still fight.”_

_“No. It’s better if I don’t.”_

_The Sentret, to my dismay, didn’t leave. Instead, he curled up around me, that sad smile never leaving his face. “Then I’ll fight for you until you can.”_

_***_

_A swooping sound and a familiar gasp made me open my eyes. I was in the trunk of a tree, the place Sentret told me to stay, our temporary safe spot. Sentret was out looking for food late at night. He should have been back by now._

_“Sentret?” I wriggled my way to one of the peeping holes in the tree and peeked out._

_Blood. Everywhere. My friend’s body. Still._

_The Noctowl was feasting. I shouldn’t have watched. But I did._

_It didn’t hurt as much as it should have. Or maybe I was already hurting too much to notice._

* * *

“Oh…” Roman looked uncomfortable. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t give you time to say goodbye to anyone.”

“No, it’s alright. He’s been gone for a while,” Absolem replied. “And if you hadn’t caught me, my luck would have run out eventually. I wasn’t going to make any effort to get stronger. Now that I am, though, I’ll try to be useful to you. As a way of showing my gratitude.”

“You’re plenty useful,” Roman promised. “Just you wait, you’ll be the strongest --” he paused mid-sentence, causing Absolem to glance over curiously. “-- oh, I just realized, you’re part flying, aren’t you? You’d also be great against the next gym!”

“Yes, I suppose so. Though I doubt Thomas would like me to take his spotlight.”

“Oh. So you noticed.”

“He’s not hard to read. He’s an open book.”

Roman chuckled. “And you and Remus are closed ones.”

“Not closed; just a bit more trouble to decipher,” Absolem replied. “Like that pillar back there. You just have to read between the lines.”

“Huh.”

Thomas and the others were waiting for them by a ladder. Roman allowed Thomas to climb onto his shoulder while Toph allowed Remus to sit on her head before she floated up to the surface. Roman stuffed the egg into his bag until he managed to climb all the way up. He was glad they left in the morning rather than later in the day, because the sunlight definitely would have been a much greater bother. He remembered that Toph had lived most of her life in a cave, and wondered how she could have possibly adjusted so quickly to the outside light.

Remus hopped off of Toph and stretched in the sunlight. “Alright, what now?”

“Let’s keep traveling down the next route to Azalea Town.” Roman grinned. “I’m sure we can find more trainers to battle on the way!”

“What if we run into Virgil?” Toph asked. Roman frowned.

“If we run into Virgil… well, then we run into Virgil!” He nodded decisively. “We can take him down this time, too! Right, Thomas?”

Thomas smiled hesitantly. “Y-Yeah, right…” He looked down at his feet in deep thought.

* * *

They battled several trainers on their way to the pier. There were two paths they could take -- the grassy path and the bridge across the pond. Both ended up leading the same way, so Roman decided to train his team in both. They battled every trainer on their way through the grassy area, then went back and made their way slowly across the bridge, battling every fisherman they went by.

Pretty soon, Roman realized his team really needed more levels before he could comfortably face other trainers; Remus was not doing very well on his own, and Thomas and Toph were at a clear type disadvantage.

“Alright, we’re going to stay here until everyone gains at least two levels!” Roman announced, his arms crossed.

“Here? It takes forever to level up in the wild,” Absolem pointed out.

“It took Remus five Tackles to take down that Magikarp!” Roman replied. “We clearly need to do some training, and I say we do it now!”

“H-Here?” Toph asked, glancing nervously between the water and the grass. “There’s an awful lot of water and grass types around…”

“Don’t worry; I have every bit of confidence in you! And you should, too!”

“Me first! Me first!” Thomas dove headfirst into the grass.

Roman chuckled affectionately. “Toph, keep an eye on him. Remus, Absolem, you’re with me on the bridge. Let’s take out these fishermen!”

* * *

The day was scorching hot, leaving red burns on those unfortunate enough to travel without sunscreen. Roman winced as he saw a blonde swimmer walk by them in her bikini, her body more red than tan. She was heading in the direction of Violet City, and as she did so, she placed a wet cloth on top of Roman’s uncovered arm and teased, “Don’t make the mistake I did.” Roman wondered whether or not Pokemon got sunburn; he assumed not, otherwise Remus would have complained about it by now.

Speaking of which, Remus was currently up against a Goldeen, and not faring too well.

“Goldeen, use Supersonic!” Roman’s current foe, a fisherman with a battle-hungry grin, exclaimed. Three psychic rings shot out from its horn and enveloped Remus before he could dodge. Suddenly, his body began to stagger as a dizziness took over. He tried to look at the opponent, but his vision was ever-so-slightly off.

“Shake it off, Remus! Use Quick Attack again!” Roman shouted. Remus turned his head as if trying to find out where Roman’s voice was coming from. Roman face-palmed as Remus stood back on his feet and charged forward, only to slam into a bridge post. The enemy fisherman chortled in an excessive manner.

“Goldeen, Peck!”

The Goldeen jabbed Remus with its horn in the thigh and the little rat coughed up blood onto the Goldeen’s face. It plunged itself into the water to clean itself off, while Remus, still confused, tried to stand and accidentally fell off the edge of the bridge.

**_“Remus!” Roman whined. “The Pokemon named after you is the most useless on my team!”_ **

**_“More useless than the eggs?” Remus paused. “I guess you_ ** **could** **_cook them. But rats are tasty too.” He grinned. “You ever dip them in tartar sauce?”_ **

**_“Yuck! No -- nope, no more conversing, I’m done with you.” Roman waved a hand in dismissal._ **

Roman groaned and thanked himself for putting on swim trunks as he sat on the edge of the bridge and swung his legs out over the water. “Absolem, you take over. Be careful of that Peck.”

“I will,” Absolem said, fluttering off to take Remus’s place in the battle.

Roman dropped into the lake water and sighed in comfort; this wasn’t even that _cold_. It was the perfect temperature for a swim. If he had to choose a place to stay on his journey so far, it’d be a cabin somewhere close by so he could take a plunge whenever he got weary of training. He almost forgot why he jumped in the water in the first place, until he felt a tail latch around his ankle.

Roman reached down and pulled on the small rat until his tail let go and he allowed himself to be raised above the water. He tried to shake himself off like a dog, causing water to flick into Roman’s eyes.

“Ow! Hey! Stop it, stop! At least wait until I put you in the grass, you Peter Peti _shrink_!”

“Ha. Ha ha,” Remus snarked. “Then do it already.”

“Talk like that and you can wait till we get to the Pokemon Center to be healed! You’ve already taken up half my Potions stock, you mangy rodent!”

“It’s not my fault you decided to buy clothes instead.”

“It was one jacket!” Roman huffed. Sometimes he really wasn’t sure why he took Casper off his team instead.

* * *

Roman decided to call a break between training sessions to relax by the water. Thomas still fought any wild Pokemon that came his way, but Remus played a game of tag with some persistent Nidoran while Absolem took a nap curled up protectively around an egg and Toph seemed to be keeping watch over everyone. Roman occasionally looked over to see how they were doing, but he was listening in to the conversations of the fishermen after checking in with his mom via a Pokegear call.

“You a Gym Challenger?” The fisherman asked. It took Roman a moment to realize the man was speaking to him.

“Ah -- yes, I am.”

The fisherman nodded to himself as he replaced the bait on his fishing hook. “I’ve got a friend who likes to hike; he’s out in Azalea Town right now. Says there’s about a dozen Gym Challengers lined up at Bugsy’s gym today; they’ve got cameras and everything. People tryin’ to make bets on the next champion. People bettin’ on who’s gonna lose their match against each gym, who’s gonna quit. Tis the season for battling, I suppose.”

 _‘I’m behind,’_ Roman realized, feeling the pressure to pick up the speed and head onward already. _‘I can’t afford to waste more time here! Everyone is getting ahead of me!’_

“Were any of them named--” Roman’s stomach grumbled and he cut himself off mid-sentence.

The fisherman laughed and tossed him a ziploc bag from his pocket, containing a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich.

“Oh, I -- I couldn’t _possibly--_ ”

“Go on!” The fisherman flashed him a crooked smile. “What, you think it’s poisonous? I’ll break off a piece if you need proof.”

“N-No, it’s not tha--”

“Go on! I’ve got kids; you learn to always have a snack hidden somewhere.”

Roman relaxed and opened up the bag with a sheepish smile. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” The fisherman recast his line. “So, you were askin’...?”

“Oh.” Roman frowned down at his sandwich. “Did you happen to hear the names of any of the challengers?”

“I did, but I couldn’t tell you any of them off the top of my head. Some roughed-up lookin’ young girl was takin’ a blue Spinarak and a Chinchou with green lights up against the leader today. She was the one makin’ headlines.”

“A blue Spinarak…? Do you mean… a shiny?!”

“That’s what they’re sayin’.” The fisherman shrugged. “Don’t know how she got two of them on her team so early on. Girl must have some luck.”

 _‘Luck…’_ Roman watched Thomas as he butted heads with some Hoppip in the tall grass. Living in New Bark Town, being given a unique starter Pokemon from the region’s professor himself… Roman figured he had some notable luck of his own.

Then again, he thought with a frown, he apparently also had a regrettable magnetic pull to wild Rattata.

“If I had to place a bet, I’d place it on the rumored Rocket child. You heard of him?”

“Rocket child?” Roman asked, confused.

“Team Rocket; the large criminal syndicate that kid took out three years ago?”

“Oh -- _that_ Rocket.”

“Yeah.” The fisherman leaned toward him and lowered his voice. “The word is, the leader, Giovanni, had a son, and he’s taking on the Gym Challenge.”

“What?!” Roman exclaimed. “Is that even allowed?!”

“ _Anyone_ can take on the Gym Challenge, as long as they’ve got a Pokemon and a Trainer ID,” the fisherman replied, not seeming to sense Roman’s frustration. “Don’t ask me how the rumor spread about; it was out before the challenge season started, and no one has stepped forward claiming to be his son yet. I pro’lly wouldn’t if I was.”

“But -- but if a member of a criminal organization becomes the Pokemon Champion--!”

“It might just be a rumor. I’m not too concerned. But, if it happens to be true, I’d bet on Giovanni’s kid rather than any old Joe Schmoe. Sure, Red managed to take him down, but Red wasn’t any ordinary trainer, either.”

Roman clenched his fists. _‘I’m not an ordinary trainer. I will not allow a criminal to become the Pokemon Champion! There’s no way!’_

“Whoa! Roman! Something’s happening!”

Roman spun around just in time to see a ring of light circling Thomas’s body, pulsing inward and outward. A knocked out Wooper lay dazed at his feet, giving Roman an idea of what was going on. Then he vanished in the white, blinding light. Roman’s eyes squeezed shut. “Is… Is he…?”

“He’s evolving!” Toph exclaimed. Absolem blinked wearily until he saw what was happening.

Roman waited for the pressure to fade against his eyelids, then squinted enough to see the vague outline of his starter as the light was receding. Even before the white light vanished, he could see Thomas was a whole foot taller, the chubbiness of his body replaced with a leaner and more compact figure.

His snout and head were much smaller. His arms and legs were longer, no longer the little stubs they had been before, allowing him to stand easier on either two or four feet. His eyes, once so close to being shut that none could see his irises, were a vivid, lively red, busy taking in the entirety of his new form. There were red spots on his head and now on his lower back, from which he could project flames. He experimented with these right away, calling forth a blistering heat that had Absolem flapping even further out of range.

“Whoa.” Thomas grinned up at Roman. “Look at me!” He raised his arms. “I’m bigger!”

“Physically. Looks like nothing’s changed mentally, though,” Remus noted.

“No need to worry, Rem! I’m still me!”

“You say that as if I’m not your biggest advocate for change.”

“You look so cool!” Toph exclaimed. Thomas flashed a smile at her.

“Yeah, congrats, I guess.”

“Isn’t evolution nice?” Absolem asked.

“It’s weird!” Thomas admitted. “But I feel a _lot_ stronger! I think I’ll get used to it.”

Toph looked like she was about to say something else, but then her eyes caught sight of something in the distance. Toph hesitantly lifted a finger. “Hey, isn’t that…?”

Roman followed Toph’s line of vision. The female challenger he’d seen at Falkner’s gym was walking through the grassy path beside the pond, her Marill tackling any Nidoran or Hoppip that tried to get in her way. The girl seemed to sense his eyes on her, because she snapped her head toward him, letting her frosty gaze settle on him before she turned away. She didn’t cast a single backward glance as she moved forward at a brisk pace, as if she, too, felt she was on a strict time limit.

Roman almost didn’t notice the egg she was holding in her arms.

_Jericho_

_Unown, nonbinary, met at lv 5 in Ruins of Alph - > Impish, Very Finicky _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Thomas is now a Quilava! I am... certainly going to accidentally call him a Cyndaquil in the future. Please correct me whenever I do. They grow up so fast. T^T  
> He and Toph definitely carry the team, though Absolem, being a Butterfree, really comes in handy with all the stat moves and Confusion. He is a good boi and my precious son. (I love Butterfrees. So. Much.) Needs a hug though. (Then again they probably all do. Everyone needs a hug.) On the other hand, training Remus, who seemed to be in danger of death on every battle and didn't get much exp, was so annoying I nearly quit and brought back Casper instead.  
> Oh, and now we have an Unown in the box! Who knows whether we'll use Jericho or not, but yes, that was absolutely inspired by my brief playing of Detroit: Become Human.  
> Yes, the other challengers are going to play a role in the story, at some point. But for now, we're heading to Union Cave to get to Azalea Town as soon as possible! Stay tuned to see how well the team manages... and for how long. >>}

**Author's Note:**

> {Reason for choosing Cyndaquil... Idk, I always imagined Roman as a fire-type trainer. Maybe it has to do with red being a major part of his color scheme, or him having a passionate, almost fiery personality, despite trying his best to uphold an outwardly princely appearance. That internal conflict is something I hope to capture here.}
> 
> {Anyone who submits a piece of fanart to me for any of the nuzlockes will have their work posted along with the next chapter of the story, AND they will be allowed to promote themselves! What I mean by that is, I will put down whatever contact information you want along with that picture (be it an email address, a social media account that people can contact you and/or support you through, a website you put your art, etc.), as well as one unrelated art piece or charity that you would like to promote. It can be yours or someone else's, a picture or a video, or a link to somewhere people can donate either to you or to a cause.  
> I would say to keep it safe for work, and put warnings for overly graphic content or harsh language. Also, for every piece you create and submit, you will be able to promote either the same thing or something entirely different, so if you want to promote 10 different causes, feel free to go wild on the art!! It will make me happy in these sad times :3  
> Worst case scenario, I get nothing and these paragraphs were written for nothing, and that's okay too.  
> Please leave a comment when you submit something to me. You can put links to your work and promotion in the comments, or you can email them to me, BUT EVEN IF YOU EMAIL ME, make sure you leave a comment in case it gets sent to spam, so I know to look for it and I can reply to you if I don't get it! My email is Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.  
> The main reason I'm doing this is, admittedly, because I would love to see art for these stories and can't make anything decent on my own, and I'd like a way to motivate others to create in a way that helps them equally, despite not having the money to commission artists.}


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